Scenarios: Photo Scandal
by adcgordon
Summary: Hollywood teens are so scrutinized. How will one young couple in the limelight handle a media frenzy that tries to pull them down? Can Zanessa's parents help them cope, even when they are half a world apart? Rated M for safety.
1. Screwup

**This is a Zanessa scenario that's gone through my head for two years. I've finally put it in writing. I have to admit that I'm thrilled our favorite couple was able to overcome this scandal and continued on with their relationship, and with HSM!**

**As much as I wish I had a part in it, I don't own and am in no way affiliated with High School Musical, the characters of those movies, the actors and actresses who were part of them, or even the production crew who spent so much time and created this generation-changing phenomena.**

**Hope you enjoy! And if you do, please check out Scenarios: Trust & 25. Thanks for reading!**

* * *

"Mom, we screwed up." Zac's mom, Starla, had just answered the phone to that statement. It was nearly three a.m. in Australia, nearly a full day ahead of California time, where Starla was trying to finish her afternoon errands.

"Zac, what are you talking about?" Starla was stunned to hear her son's voice at such an off-time of the day and in the middle of the week. He was on the publicity tour for his new movie _Hairspray_ and she didn't expect him to call until the weekend. "Isn't it the middle of the night in Sydney?" Starla dropped the grocery bag and car keys on the kitchen counter and sat down on a barstool to listen to her oldest son.

"Have you seen…the stuff on the internet…about…Vanessa?" Zac was obviously referring to his girlfriend. And he was grazing the topic very gently. "You haven't gotten any phone calls about it, have you?"

Starla glanced at the digital reading on the phone. There were four messages blinking back at her. "Zachary. I don't know what you're talking about. What idiotic thing have the tabloids come up with this time that has you calling me when you should be asleep?" Starla felt annoyed already at the thought of the paparazzi and some of the dumb stories they had made up about her son and his girlfriend.

"This time it's true." Zac's voice said seriously.

"Zac, what's wrong with Vanessa? What's going on?"

"Mom, log onto the internet. Go to the 'Star' website…you'll see." Zac heard his mom's fingers typing on the computer and then a gasp. He knew she had seen it.

The headline read "High School Musical Sweetheart Strikes Discord with Photo Scandal". The pictures showed censored shots of Zac's girlfriend in various phases of undressing and posing for the camera.

"Zachary…" Starla finally started speaking again. "What's this about? Did _you_ take these pictures?"

Starla could hear her son fumbling for words on the other end of the phone line. "God, no, mom…I didn't take them." Zac finally spat out. "Vanessa took them, of herself, like two years ago, before we even met."

"Then why are they showing up now? How did anyone even find out about them? _Why would she take pictures of herself like this?_ " The questions just started flowing from Starla's mind to her mouth.

"Mom, mom…MOM!" Zac was trying desperately to get her attention while he still had the courage to talk to her. "That's where I come into this…that's where we screwed up."

"Please don't use that word in this conversation, Zac. Not when I'm looking at racy photos of a young lady that I've grown quite fond of." Starla requested calmly. "Now, tell me what happened."

"I'm still not completely sure. I don't know if we'll ever really know for sure, but here's the situation." Starla could feel her son blushing, even thousands of miles away from him. The hesitancy in the conversation only made her realize it more.

"When the _Hairspray_ tour was getting ready to start, Ness and I had this long talk before I left. We'd been more…well, physical…or intimate, I guess…knowing that I was gonna be gone for a while and stuff." Zac was trying to choose his words carefully.

"And…stuff?" Starla interrupted. "Zac, you and Vanessa didn't…"

"NO!" Zac nearly shouted interrupting his mom. He could feel the blood and heat rushing to his face. "No, we didn't do _that_ . Not yet at least." He nearly whispered.

"Go on." Starla encouraged.

"So at some point I made this joke about taking pictures of her to remind me…of _her_ … and we both laughed and blushed about it. But then she got real shy and admitted to me that she had taken some pictures like that of herself before we met. She had thought about giving them to this other guy that she thought she liked at the time. She said she didn't give them to him because she'd gotten embarrassed about them." Zac paused for a minute to catch his breath.

"She still had the pictures?" Starla asked.

"Yeah, I don't know why, but she still did. Anyway, I…I kinda told her I'd like to see them and asked her to send them to me." Zac admitted. He could hear the disgust and anger flaring in his mom's tone.

"You did _WHAT?!"_ Starla was shocked.

"I asked her to send them to me…once I left for the tour…so I could look at her." Zac said softly. He was remembering how embarrassed he had been when he had encouraged Vanessa to e-mail the pictures to him. He had gotten excited at the thought of looking at her and Vanessa had gotten equally as excited about him wanting to see her. That evening they had come very close to being more than 'intimate'.

Starla's voice broke Zac's trance. "She actually _did_ send them to you?" Starla couldn't hide the disappointment in her voice. "Zac, I hate to use this word…but that was just…stupid."

"I know mom, I know that now. She tried to send them to me, but then something went haywire on her computer and she had no clue what happened. She called me the next day to ask if I'd gotten them and I told her 'no' and she started freaking out on me. I went through all of my e-mails and deleted files and everything. I NEVER got the pictures. Her computer files say they were sent, but we had no idea where they went. And we still don't. All we know is that she tried to send them three weeks ago and then a couple of days ago this story started leaking out about her and then the pictures showed up." Zac again stopped to breathe. "And now, this."

Starla sat there for a minute just staring at the computer screen and feeling guilty for staring. She closed the website and went back to the kitchen to sit on the barstool. "Have you talked to Vanessa?"

"Yeah. She called me a couple of hours ago. She's humiliated mom and I don't know how to help her. I feel like this is all my fault." Zac said sadly.

"Well don't put the blame completely on yourself Zac," his mom said with an edge in her voice. "You weren't the one who took the pictures. But you aren't innocent in this either." Starla's voice certainly wasn't the understanding, compassionate one that Zac had hoped to hear.

"Mom, I want to come home." Zac continued.

"What? You mean right now?" Starla still sounded gruff with him.

"Vanessa needs me mom. I need to come home." Zac was trying to be strong and trying to plead his case. He didn't want to be so far away with all this crap breaking loose. And his conversation with Vanessa hadn't gone well at all.

"Zac…I'm ruined. My career is shot. I'm 18 and my career is done. I feel like just giving up." Vanessa cried.

"_Ness, you can't give up. That's crazy. This is just a mistake of a teenager. We all make mistakes. It's going to be fine. Just hang in there." Zac had tried to reassure her._

"_You haven't. You haven't done something stupid like this. Leave it to me to have things going so well and then SCREW THEM UP!" Vanessa was hysterical now._

"_VANESSA! Listen to me, please. You've gotta calm down and we've gotta think this through. We can figure this out. Other people have gone through this kind of crap. We aren't the first ones and we won't be the last. Please, please calm down. We'll figure this out." Zac was trying to think and talk and calm her down all at the same time. He wished he was there to wrap his arms around her._

"_Why do you keep saying 'we' Zac? You aren't the one going through this. You aren't the one that has to get through this. I am. There's no reason you need to deal with this mess. It'll only bring you down too and you can't do that." Vanessa was still sobbing and Zac could tell she could barely catch her breath through the tears. But he couldn't believe what he was hearing from her._

"_Nessa! Why wouldn't I go through this with you? If I hadn't asked you to send me the pictures this whole mess wouldn't be going on. This is just as much my fault as it is yours. I am NOT going to let you go through this alone." Zac was adamant._

"_You probably won't have a choice Zac. Once I talk to mom and dad and they get involved…you'll probably be out of the picture anyway. You can try to help me all you want but I'd say we're done. I gotta go. I don't know what happens next Zac. I just, I gotta go." And a sobbing Vanessa had hung up on Zac._

_He attempted to call her back several times and left several messages, but Vanessa never answered._

_All he could think to do was call his mom. _

"Zac, you can't come home right now. You've still got nearly two weeks of publicity stops and radio and tv shows to hit in Australia. If you come home now you break your contract and then you've got a whole other legal mess to deal with. You CANNOT come home right now." Starla didn't intend to sound mean, but she knew he couldn't get out of his contractual obligations without huge repercussions.

"But mom…" Zac tried to continue. "What if…" his voice softened. "What if Vanessa doesn't hang on till I get home? What if she does something…and she's not there when I get home?" Zac felt a huge lump forming in his throat. He didn't know what lengths Vanessa would go to, to make this mess go away and to end the hurt that she was feeling.

"Zac, what do you mean? Are you thinking Vanessa will do something to hurt herself? She wouldn't do something…like that, do you think?" Now Starla was very concerned.

"Mom, when I talked to her…she was hysterical. I couldn't calm her down and she said we were 'done'. I don't know what she might do. I've never seen or heard her this upset before. She hung up on me mom. I'm scared and I want to come home." Zac poured his heart out and still was waiting for his his mom's compassion.

"Zac, honey. Don't do this to yourself. You can't come home. I know that's not what you want to hear from me right now, but that's the truth of the matter." Starla said sincerely. "Vanessa's got her parents here and a number of other good friends. She will be fine."

"But mom, she doesn't have me. I need to be with her right now and I can't even get her to answer her phone. I don't even know if she's talked to her mom and dad or not. I don't know if she'll talk to anyone else. I'm afraid she was trying to talk to me and I couldn't help her." Starla could hear Zac break into tears. "I need to be there to look her in the eyes. Mom, she wasn't listening to me on the phone. If I'm there I can hold her, I can make her listen to me…but I need to be there. Please, please tell me I can come home."

Starla could feel Zac's heartbreak. She could hear the tears and the concern in his voice. And she could only imagine what Vanessa might be going through. Zac had said enough to convince his mom that Vanessa needed some kind of intervention, someone to check on her, physically. But Starla still knew that Zac could not come home.

"Zac, listen to me. I can tell you're upset. I can tell you're scared and concerned. But I still can't let you come home. " Zac could hear the sincerity in his mom's voice, but she still wasn't telling him the answer that he wanted to hear. "I know you're ready to break your contract and get back here. I understand why now. But it won't do you OR Vanessa any good if you wind up in the middle of a lawsuit while this picture mess is still spinning out of control. You NEED to stay in Australia and follow through on your obligations."

"But mom…it's gonna look like I don't care about her. Like I'm just leaving her alone while all this is going crazy around her. I'm afraid it's going to push her even closer to the edge." Zac tried again.

"Forget what it _looks_ like. Remember honey, it doesn't matter how this looks to other people. As long as you and Vanessa can figure out the truth in all of this and know in your heart what that truth is…that's what matters. "

"I don't know what that truth is right now, mom." Zac answered, still crying. "I can't even hear her voice right now. I can't see her, I can't hold her…what can I do?" Zac was searching his heart for answers.

They sat in silence for a few minutes. Starla could hear Zac sniffling on the other side of the world. She could imagine the tears running down his cheeks and she knew there had to be something that she could do. "Zac? Does Vanessa have a key to your apartment in L.A.?" Starla asked.

"Yeah, why?" Zac replied.

"I'm going to see if I can get in touch with her, or with Gina. Would you feel better if _I_ saw her and talked to her?" Starla was grasping at straws to try and help Zac. But she was also very concerned for Vanessa too. She thought it might help them both if she could physically see Vanessa and attempt to help her for Zac.

"I-I guess it might help. What are you thinking mom?" Zac was quiet.

"You've got me concerned about her too, Zac. I feel like I need to try and see her and make sure she's ok. I don't know if she would open up to me or look at me, or even talk to me. But maybe, if I can get her to come over to your apartment, maybe I can at least see how she's doing." Starla was trying to formulate the plan in her head.

"Mom, you're three hours away from L.A. You can't just run down to my apartment." Zac didn't know how she thought she could help.

"I realize that Zachary. I'm going to try and call Gina first and see if she's even willing to talk to me. For all we know Gina and Greg have taken Vanessa away somewhere and don't want her to be around anyone. That's another reason for you to stay in Australia and try to concentrate on your work. If they have her in hiding somewhere you would just drive yourself nuts up here trying to find her." Starla had no idea what kind of situation the Hudgens family was facing right now. She didn't want to add to their troubles, but she was hoping to find some kind of common ground with Vanessa's mom…if Gina would talk to her.

"Let me work on this from up here Zac. I will call you as soon as I know something more, okay? Give me at least four hours. And that means you try to get some sleep." Starla instructed her 19-year-old son.

"Like that's going to happen." Zac commented sullenly. "I doubt I'll sleep any until I'm back in California and back in Vanessa's arms."

"Two weeks Zachary, two weeks. Trust me, please, let me work on this. I will do all I can to make sure Vanessa's okay." Starla promised her son.

"Mom?" Zac started.

"Yes sweetheart?"

"I do trust you. Thank you…and I love you."

"I love you too my darling." Starla felt a little better that her son had calmed down considerably since their conversation started. She knew he was apprehensive about the whole situation and just wanted to get home to handle it himself. But they both knew that wasn't possible.

"Mom…one more thing?" Zac continued.

"What's that?" Starla asked.

"_IF_ Vanessa will talk to you, or listen to you…please tell her that I love her." The tears were back in Zac's voice as he thought about the tears that were probably streaming down his beautiful girlfriend's face. They were not 'done'. Not by a long shot.

----------------------------


	2. On My Way

Starla hung up the phone reassuring her son that she would pass along his message, one way or another. She decided she better check the messages that were on the machine.

The first two were from her husband, Zac's father, David. "Starla, call me as soon as you can. I just stumbled on something at work…I think we'd better call Zac." Then…"Starla I can't get you on your cell phone…where are you? Call me please…asap."

The third message was one that Zac had warned her about. "Mr. & Mrs. Efron this is Jason Stewart from Star Magazine. Can we get a comment from you on the photos of Vanessa that have been released? Give me a call at 212-555-STAR." _Jerk! _ Starla thought. _How dare that s.o.b. call here!_

The final caller didn't leave their name. The call was short, simple and tearful, "Mr & Mrs. Efron…I'm sorry." Starla stopped. That was Vanessa. The same Vanessa that hadn't called them Mr. & Mrs. since she first met them. They had told her to use their first names and she had happily done so. It was also the same Vanessa whose messages were usually very cheerful when she would call to make sure Zac made it home for a weekend visit each month.

Now Starla knew first hand why Zac was worried about her.

She picked up the phone and dialed her husband's work number. At the same time she grabbed her overnight bag from the closet and started throwing some clothes into it. David answered his phone on the second ring.

"Starla, where have you been? Something's come up. When's a good time to call Zac?" David rushed his words not sure how to explain to his wife what was going on.

"I think I know what you're trying to tell me about. I'm sorry I didn't call sooner, I was on the phone with Zac." Starla was able to stay calm, hoping to help her husband calm down too. "He's very aware of this photo mess. I assume that's what's come up?"

"How did Zac find out? Has he talked to Vanessa? Does he know how this happened?" David was anxious for answers.

"Yes he's talked to Vanessa. That's how he found out. He kind of had a hand in it happening." Starla sighed thinking about Zac's confession.

"He…what?" David was stunned. "He can't get involved in something like this, he's got a reputation and a career on the line. He needs to get as far away from this as he can." David's voice was cold, not what Starla was expecting.

"David, honey, please don't take that tone. You don't know the whole story."

"Why is he taking pictures of her like that? I'm surprised Greg Hudgens hasn't killed him already." David continued.

"David!" Starla yelled into the phone. "That's enough!" She was still trying to pack her things. "Where's my toiletry bag?" She mumbled to herself.

"What can you tell me then?" David asked? "And what are you doing? Why do you need your toiletry bag?"

Starla began the story, trying to summarize things and keep some of the details out of it that Zac had shared with her. "Zac did NOT take the pictures. Vanessa took them of herself before she and Zac met. But Zac asked her to e-mail them to him so that he could have pictures of her while he's away. She tried to e-mail them but something went wacko on her computer and they never got to Zac. They don't know where they actually ended up, but now they're all over the place."

David took a moment to let his wife's words soak in. "How is Vanessa handling this?" That sounded more like the husband that Starla knew and loved.

"Not well. She called Zac about two hours ago and ended up telling him that they were 'done'. And then she hung up on him. Now she won't answer his calls." Starla found the bag. "Oh good, there it is." She mumbled again.

"Is she mad at Zac? You still haven't told me why you need your toiletry bag." David was still confused.

"No, I don't think she's mad at Zac. But I think she's really, really confused and depressed. Zac's afraid she's going to do something irrational. He's so scared about it that he wants to come home from Australia. He practically begged me to let him come home so he could get to her." Starla explained. "When I got off the phone with Zac I checked our messages. There was one from Vanessa but she didn't even say who was calling. It just said, 'Mr & Mrs. Efron, I'm sorry.'"

"But Vanessa doesn't call us that. She calls us Starla and David. How do you know it was her?" David wondered.

"I know that voice, David. Even through the tears. Her voice is just one that's become very familiar to me." Starla was beginning to consider Vanessa as a daughter, another member of their family. She hated to hear that voice filled with such hurt.

"Anyway, I told Zac that I would try to get in touch with Vanessa and see if she will talk to me. Or at least I'll try to talk to Gina and see what the situation is. In order to do either one of those I need to go to L.A." David was a little stunned.

"Do you think it's a good idea to intervene? What if Gina and Greg are furious with Zac? Were you planning on going by yourself? When are you leaving?"

"DAVID! Please, I'm a grown woman. My son is thousands of miles away from me and he's practically heartbroken and heart-sick about the pain he's causing Vanessa. The least I can do is get a first-hand look at the situation and find out what we can do to make this better for both of them. I'm hoping if Greg and Gina will team up with us, we can try to show a strong front to help both our children." Starla still didn't have a plan, but she knew she was heading to L.A."

"Well where are you staying? Are you leaving right away? Maybe I should come with you." David sounded a little hurt that she wasn't including him in this trip.

"I'm going to stay at Zac's, if Vanessa will come over to let me in. That's part of my plan…I hope. I'm going to call Gina right after I hang up with you and see if I can make sure that Vanessa's ok. Let me make this trip alone. I'm hoping if Gina and I can get along on this that we can bring you and Greg in very soon. The big thing I need to do…for Zac…is see Vanessa." Starla explained.

"He really cares about her doesn't he?" David asked.

"He loves her David. That's what he asked me to tell her, if she'll talk to me. That's why I need to do this in person. I can't deliver that kind of message over the phone." Starla tossed her nightclothes into the bag and zipped it up. "I'll be on the road in half an hour, hopefully."

"Be careful please." David said. "I love you, I'll miss you!"

"Love you too sweetheart. Let Dylan know where I am, but be careful on the details you give him. I'd really prefer he not look at the pictures of Vanessa. That's something Zac and Vanessa don't need to worry about." Starla had a cold chill run down her spine as she thought about Dylan seeing semi-nude pictures of Zac's girlfriend. At age fourteen Dylan's hormones were raging enough. This certainly wouldn't help that situation.

"I'll be careful, promise. And I'll call you later tonight." Starla finished the conversation and hung up the phone.

_One more call to attempt to make._ She thought.

It took a few minutes for her to find the Hudgens' home phone number. She had Vanessa's cell number programmed into her phone, but she rarely had a reason to call Gina. Luckily she had written the number down in her phone book a couple of years ago when Zac and Vanessa had insisted on keeping in touch after filming the first High School Musical movie. Hopefully the number hadn't changed.

She picked up her phone and tentatively dialed the number. She had no idea what kind of reaction she should expect, so she braced for the worst.

"Hello?" A young voice answered. Then she heard an adult voice in the background. "STELLA we told you NOT to answer that phone. Hang up. Hang UP!"

Before Stella could put the phone down, Starla decided to try and catch her attention. "Stella, STELLA! Please don't hang up, this is Starla…Starla Efron…Zac's mom. Please don't hang up…Stella!"

Vanessa's younger sister had been slow to put the phone down and had caught just a word or two of what Starla was saying. "Mrs. Efron?" Stella asked as her mother continued to yell at her to hang up the phone.

"Mom, wait…MOM! It's not the tabloids…I think it's Zac's mom." Starla could tell there was a struggle going on for the phone so she just hung on the line waiting for a voice or a dial tone.

Suddenly a voice appeared on the other end. "May I help you?" Gina Hudgens sounded very skeptical.

Starla started gently. "Gina? It's Starla Efron. Can we possibly talk for a minute, please?"

Gina was taken aback. "I mean no disrespect, but how do I know this is really you?"

Starla understood completely. "None taken. I'm not sure how to convince you, but I can tell you that Zac just called me from Sydney. He is really worried about Vanessa and so am I. She left me a message earlier today apologizing to us. She sounds very hurt and Zac is scared for her. Her call made me concerned for her as well. Gina, is she ok?"

"Starla, are you aware of what's going on?" Gina asked timidly.

"I am. Zac told me." Starla said carefully. "Gina, Zac said Vanessa told him they were 'done'. Is that what you and Greg want…for them to break up because of this?" Starla knew Gina was still very hesitant to talk about this but she needed to know.

"Wh-When did she tell him that? Greg nor I have said that. She won't even tell us who these pictures were being sent to. We assumed they were going to Zac, but Vanessa won't tell us. Starla, do you know _how_ this happened?" Gina sounded very concerned but Starla didn't feel comfortable sharing the story with her, especially not over the phone.

"Gina, it's my turn to apologize. I'm not sure that I should share what Zac told me. I want to help Vanessa but I don't want to betray her confidence or Zac's. All I know for sure is that Vanessa is hurting deeply and Zac is very worried about her. Enough so that he wants me to see her and make sure she's ok. So I'm coming to L.A. tonight. I'd like to stay at Zac's apartment and I know Vanessa has a spare key. Would it be possible for her to meet me there and let me in and maybe talk to me a little bit?"

Gina was feeling a bit hurt. Vanessa had been in her room for the past three hours and wouldn't talk to her or Greg. They didn't know how to help their daughter and they were still astonished and disturbed at what was happening in her life. As much as Gina wanted Starla to tell her what Zac had said, she would rather hear the story from Vanessa. And right now it didn't matter. She knew Starla was right. Having Vanessa open up to _anyone_ right now was better than the sobbing daughter who wouldn't come out of her room.

Gina broke down. Starla could hear the quiet tears coming from the phone but she wasn't sure what to do. After a moment she heard another voice on the line. "Starla?" It was Greg Hudgens.

"Hi Greg." Starla said softly. "I'm sorry, I didn't want to upset Gina. I-we're just worried about Vanessa. I'm coming to L.A. tonight. I promised Zac I would try to see Vanessa because she's not answering his calls right now. He needs to know that she's ok…and he wants to hear that from me." She knew it sounded crazy. She knew this made Zac sound guilty for something in this mess, but she decided she was not going to tell them what role he had played. That was up to him and Vanessa to share with them, not her.

"Why hasn't he tried to call the house?" Greg asked warily.

"He didn't know if any of you would talk to him. He talked to Vanessa a couple of hours ago…or at least he heard from her. He said she was hysterical and wouldn't listen to him. And now she won't answer his calls. Honestly, I don't know if he thought to call your house or not. I just know he's terribly worried about her." Starla didn't know what else to say. She had told them both that she was headed to L.A. All she could do was ask again to see Vanessa.

"Greg, when I get to L.A., can you please have Vanessa come and let me into Zac's apartment? She has a spare key. I don't. Or I can come by your place to pick it up. Either way, I'd really just like to see her. Would that be possible?"

"I don't know Starla…we can try. She's been locked in her room for hours now. I didn't know she had even tried to call Zac – isn't it the middle of the night in Sydney? We heard her yelling at one point and ran to check on her. I kind of assumed one of the paps had gotten her cell number. Then we heard her phone ring a couple of times but never heard her answer. We kind of figured she had turned the phone off." Greg sounded very unsure now about his daughter. Gina was standing at his side with tears in her eyes. "Starla, hang on a second, please?"

"Sure. I'm just getting into my car and getting on the road. Do you want me to call back when I'm closer?" She was still pushing to see Vanessa.

"No, hang on, I'm going to send Gina up to see if Vanessa will talk to you."

The house phone had been ringing off the hook since noon. At first Gina had no idea what was going on. Vanessa had answered the phone a couple of times and then yelled at the callers to leave her alone. She had then logged onto the internet and Gina saw, over her shoulder, the pictures.

_Gina was shocked to say the least. Vanessa had hung her head in embarrassment and just walked away from the computer, not even bothering to log off the fateful website. Gina had yelled after her. "Vanessa Anne Hudgens! What is this about, where did these come from?" Vanessa wouldn't answer her. _

_Gina had seen Vanessa pick up her phone and hesitate for a minute before dialing a number. She seemed to be in a fog. Vanessa didn't move when the person she called answered the phone. Gina clearly heard the conversation and thought she was talking to Zac, but she wasn't sure. Vanessa had been very vague throughout the conversation and looked completely lost._

"_The Star website." Vanessa had told the person. "They're all on there, all of them. I know, I know you wouldn't lie to me…I know you wouldn't do this to me. But somebody did, cause they're there. I, I'm sorry. It was stupid. I knew better but I did it anyway. No, it's not your fault, don't say that. This is my screw up. I have no one to blame but myself. I, I can't talk anymore right now. I'll call you back in a little bit."_

_By that time V had noticed her mom staring, listening to her conversation. It didn't matter to her. Nothing mattered right now. All she could think about was how tingly she had felt when Zac said he wanted to see 'those' pictures of her. She couldn't wait to send them to him. But then he'd said he didn't get the pictures. She believed him, didn't she? He wouldn't lie to her about that. He wouldn't lie and then release them to the tabloids, would he? No, he wouldn't do that. But Vanessa was second guessing herself. She just wanted to run and hide…but it was too late. She wanted Zac there with her…or did she? She wasn't sure what she wanted anymore and then she realized that no one could help her. No one._

_Gina had glanced again at the pictures and then walked over to Vanessa who was simply frozen. She was standing in the middle of the dining room, fiddling with her phone and staring into nowhere. _

"_Honey, please, talk to me. How did this happen? Who hurt you like this?" Gina didn't dare ask, but the question went through her mind and apparently slipped over her tongue, "Was it Zac?"_

_Vanessa's eyes had lit up with flames in them as she gritted her teeth and looked at her mother. "Does it really matter who did it, mom? Does it? Do you think Zac would do this? Maybe he did, maybe he didn't but does it really matter? What matters is that it's done. I'm done. My career, my life…I'm done." She had stormed up to her room and locked the door. Gina heard the crying begin and knew her little girl was hurting._

_She walked back over to the computer and looked closely at the pictures. She wondered if, perhaps, Zac had taken them. But as she reviewed them she could tell they weren't recent pictures of her daughter. They almost looked like they had been taken by Vanessa herself. IF that was the case, how did they end up on a national tabloid's website. Then it dawned on Gina…if they were on this website, it would only be a matter of days before they appeared everywhere else. She felt sick; she felt scared; she needed help. So she quickly picked up the phone and called Greg._

"_Come home, please." Gina had asked._

"_Is everything okay? What's going on?" Greg had no clue what could have happened._

"_Please, just come home. I can't explain this over the phone and I…Vanessa and I…we need you here at home." Gina had managed to spit the request out._

"_I'm on my way." Greg had put the phone down, grabbed his briefcase and headed out of the office. He only stopped to let the receptionist know that he was gone, and didn't know when he would be back, there was a family emergency._

_It only took Greg fifteen minutes to get home. Thankfully in mid-afternoon the traffic wasn't bad. He had no idea what he would find when he got home but he parked the car and got into the house as quickly as possible. He heard Gina upstairs trying to talk to Vanessa._

"_Honey, please talk to me. Daddy's on his way home. We need to talk about this. We need to figure out what to do."_

_Then he heard Vanessa crying. "There's nothing 'we' can do mom. It's too late. I screwed up and that's it…done, finished. It's all me."_

"_Oh my god," Greg thought. "She's pregnant. 18 years old and pregnant. I'll kill him for hurting her. He will never see her again."_

_Greg was up the stairs in three steps and at his wife's side. "Vanessa, honey, daddy's home. Tell me what's going on." No answer. "Baby V talk to me. I'm not mad, I just want to help you." _

_Then a muffled voice came from inside her room. "The one person who could possibly help me is half a world away." And then the crying continued._

_Gina led Greg down the stairs. He was pretty sure he knew what was going on. "I'll kill him Gina. When he gets back into the states, I'll kill him. How dare he do this to her. She trusts him, hell, I trusted him."_

_Gina was confused, but Greg seemed to know what he was talking about. "How did you find out? I assume you're talking about Zac…what role did he play in this mess? Who told you?"_

_Now Greg was a little confused. "What role did he play? Isn't he the one who got her pregnant? Please, God, tell me she wasn't sleeping with more than one boy. I can't take the thought of that."_

"_Preg-pregnant? Who said she's pregnant? Nude pictures aren't bad enough, she's pregnant too???!!!" Gina buried her head in her hands. "She's on birth control…and right after Zac left she told me they had 'NOT' had sex. How can she be pregnant?"_

_Greg stopped her for a minute and pulled Gina's hands away from her face. "Wait…nude pictures? What are we talking about? I assumed from the conversation I heard upstairs that Vanessa was pregnant. I don't know anything about 'pictures'._

_They both stopped for a minute. Things had gotten way out of hand. They heard Vanessa's sobs get louder from upstairs and they both went back to her bedroom door. _

"_You haven't done something stupid like this. Leave it to me to have things going so well and then SCREW THEM UP!" Vanessa was on the phone and hysterical now. She stopped talking and her crying quieted for just a moment as she tried to listen to the person on the other end of the line._

"_Why do you keep saying 'we' Zac? You aren't the one going through this. You aren't the one that has to get through this. I am. There's no reason you need to deal with this mess. It'll only bring you down too and you can't do that." Her tears had risen again and soon they heard her say "we're done." After that something had hit the door. That's where they heard her phone ringing just moments later but Vanessa didn't answer it._

_Gina had taken Greg back downstairs after that and sat him down at the computer. She pulled up the website that was still emblazoned on the screen. There he saw the pictures of his baby girl that no one should have been allowed to see. Gina held onto his shoulders and felt him begin to shake. Then she saw the tears streaming down his face._

"_Who took these?" He growled. Again he was blaming Zac. _

"_I don't know honey." Gina answered. "But I can tell you they weren't taken recently. She's grown up quite a bit since those were taken. It almost looks like she took them of herself."_

_Greg looked at them for just another moment and then hastily shut down the computer screen. "Nobody" he said slowly "should be allowed to see my daughter like that. NOBODY!"_

_He had taken a walk after that to try and put his thoughts together. When he returned Stella was home from school and the phone had begun to ring. It didn't take long for them to realize they didn't want to answer these calls. More tabloids wanting answers, seedy talk shows wanting interviews. Gina was trying to field the calls and then decided it was just easier to hang up the phone, or not answer it at all. _

_Greg had jerked the phone cord from the wall but Stella begged him to put it back. She was expecting a call from a friend who was going to help her with homework. She promised she would only answer if she knew the number on the caller-id. It was just about an hour later that she answered the call from Starla Efron._

_Greg, Gina and Stella had all three made trips up to Vanessa's room to try and encourage her to talk to them. They were worried. Gina especially was worried since she had seen such a drastic change in Vanessa since earlier in the day._

"Gina. Go tell Vanessa that Starla is on the phone. Ask her to talk to her, please. Tell her that Zac is worried and is sending Starla to check on her."

Gina went up the stairs and stood by the door for a moment. She didn't hear the crying now. She didn't hear anything at all, which scared her. For the first time that afternoon she reached for the door handle and tried to gain entry to her daughter's room. To her surprise, the door was open.

When she walked into Vanessa's room she saw the phone laying by the door, as they had suspected, she had thrown it there after her last conversation with Zac. Then she saw Vanessa laying, curled up into a ball, in the center of her bed. Gina stalled, watching carefully to see if her daughter was still breathing. She hadn't even thought about Vanessa taking some drastic measure to make this all go away…until Starla had called. Now Gina stood, holding her breath, until she saw her daughter's body rise and fall with a few breaths.

She took a few more steps and sat gently down on the edge of the bed. Vanessa wasn't sleeping, as she had thought. Instead she was again staring off into space, looking like a lost little girl. Gina could see the tear stains on her face and knew that she was lost, lost in her own thoughts.

"Vanessa, honey?" Gina touched her daughter softly on the hip. "Please look at me." Vanessa shifted her eyes to do as her mother had requested. "Zac's mom is on the phone. She'd like to talk to you. Zac's very worried because you haven't answered his calls. Starla is on her way down to L.A. and she'd like to see you. Will you talk to her? Please?"

Vanessa didn't say anything. But she stretched her legs and shifted herself around in the bed until she had a pillow under her head. She just nodded at her mom. Gina went to her own bedroom to get the cordless phone to bring into Vanessa's room. "Greg, I've got it up here. You can hang up." Gina waited to hear the other phone click downstairs. "Starla are you still there?"

"Yes, I'm here."

"Vanessa is willing to take your call. I'm just going to take the phone to her." Gina walked across the hall and looked again at her daughter who was wiping tears away from her pale, distorted face.

Gina gingerly handed the phone to Vanessa who accepted it with shaky hands. "Do you want me to stay?" Gina mouthed to her daughter. Again, Vanessa nodded. So Gina sat down beside her on the bed and put her hand out for Vanessa to take.

It took Vanessa a minute to gather the courage to speak to Starla. She had called and left a message for her and David earlier, apologizing to them for the explosion she knew she had caused.

Finally, Gina heard her daughter speak for the first time in hours. "Star – Mrs. Efron – is Zac okay?" The tears started rolling again as she said Zac's name.

Starla was working to ignore the fact that Vanessa had again called her by her wedded name, instead of speaking to her so candidly as she usually did. "Oh honey, it is so good to hear your voice." Starla was nearly in tears herself. She didn't want to push this too far. She just wanted to make sure Vanessa was ok for the moment, until she could get there and see her for herself.

"Zac is fine. He's very worried about you, but he's fine. " Starla waited to see if there was any response.

"I, I miss him." Vanessa barely whispered into the phone. Gina saw the tears rolling down Vanessa's cheeks and saw her chewing on her bottom lip. "Do you want me to talk to her?" Gina asked. Vanessa shook her head and held the phone closer to her face.

"I know, Sweet Girl, I know you miss him. He wants to be with you right now, believe me he does. I had to make him try to sleep or he would still be trying to call you right now."

"He, he shouldn't lose sleep over me. He has too much to do." Vanessa answered back, again barely whispering.

Starla didn't want to keep her on the phone much longer. She needed to drive and she was feeling a little more confident that Vanessa was okay. "Vanessa, sweetheart, I'm on my way to L.A. Zac wanted me to make sure the paps weren't bothering his apartment. I want to spend the night there, but I don't have a key. Can I come by your house and borrow your key…or could you meet me at Zac's place to let me in?" It sounded like a valid lie to Starla. And in the state Vanessa was in, she didn't feel like arguing with her.

"I, I really don't want to leave my house right now. Can mom give you directions and you come get the key? We're only about ten minutes away from Zac, Zac's place." Vanessa figured she could give her mom the key and stay in her room. That would be fine. She knew that Starla was trying to check up on her for Zac. That thought made the tears start flowing even more freely.

Starla could hear Vanessa almost whimpering as she passed the phone to Gina. Vanessa turned her back to her mother and curled up again as she cried into her pillow. Gina rubbed her daughter's back as she spoke again to Starla. "It's really easy to find our place from Zac's." And she proceeded to give Starla directions.

"I'll be there in three hours." Starla said softly and then hung up the phone.

----------------------------

It had only been about a half hour since Starla talked to Zac but she decided to call him back to ease his mind a little. Zac snapped open the phone on the first ring. "Mom, what'd you find out?"

"I talked to her Zac. She sounds tired. I think she has worn herself out from crying." Starla knew it was a mistake to tell him that part.

"I should be there with her. She should not be going through this alone. Dammit!" Zac cringed after cursing knowing his mother had been the victim of his outburst. "I'm sorry mom. I just don't know what to do!"

"Zac, we've talked about this. You need to stay and do what you need to do there. This may be the hardest thing in your life to do. We both know that you don't run from a challenge. You face it head on. But you've got two challenges right now Zac and you can't face them both at the same time. I'm giving you my best advice when I tell you to handle the challenge where you are first and then come home and deal with this one." Starla hoped he would listen to her advice.

"Did she say anything mom…about breaking up with me? Did she really mean that we're 'done'? Did you tell her that I love her?" Zac was again close to tears.

"I haven't gotten to those subjects with her yet Zac. I don't even know if she'll talk to me about them. I will tell her that you love her when I see her. I'm on my way to L.A. right now. It's going to take a little bit. She did say that she misses you." Starla added.

Zac felt a ray of hope in those words. "She did? She didn't curse me or anything?"

"No, she said that she misses you. Now Zac you need to go and try to get some sleep. I know that you need to be up in just a couple of hours. You call me whenever you can in the morning. Don't worry about what time it is. I will give you whatever update I can at that point. Okay?"

"I still don't think I can sleep, but I'll try. I love you mom." Zac yawned.

"I love you too sweetheart."

------------------------


	3. Reassurance

As Gina left Vanessa's room she was giving Starla directions to their home. She stopped for a moment beside Vanessa's door and picked up the phone that was lying on the floor. She walked back toward the bed and quietly put the phone down beside Vanessa.

She took the cordless back to her bedroom and back onto the charger. Then she headed back downstairs where Greg was just sitting in the living room. "Do we have _any_ idea how this happened?" Greg was trying hard not to point fingers anywhere but he was confounded and lost and needed some kind of answer.

As Gina shook her head silently they heard the faint sound of Vanessa's cell phone ringing again. They both knew that ring, it was Zac calling. This time Vanessa answered his call.

Vanessa was surprised when she heard the phone ring from her bedside table. Hadn't she thrown it over by the door? She rolled gently to the table as she recognized the ringtone that was playing. The same ringtone that she had ignored for nearly an hour earlier in the afternoon. This time she picked the phone up and rubbed her thumb across the picture of Zac that appeared on the phone each time he tried to call her. He wasn't giving up; perhaps she shouldn't either.

"Hello?" Her voice was so faint Zac wasn't sure if he actually heard it or not.

"Nessa, Baby, are you really there?" Zac was trying to stay calm.

"I'm here…but you should be asleep. You've got a morning show to do in less than three hours Zac. You need to go to sleep." She was still quiet, and her voice was shaky but more firm and sure than she had been hours ago when Zac had felt her crying hysterically.

"Stop worrying about me. I will be fine. You're the one who's been hit with a pile of sh-- in the past six hours. Please let me worry about you right now, okay?" He asked softly.

"Ok." Vanessa answered.

"Vanessa, _we_ are going to find a way to get to the bottom of this. And _we_ are going to do that together. Do you understand me?" Zac's voice had gone from soft to demanding and Vanessa knew he was doing his best to try and take charge of the situation, even from half a world away.

"I don't know, Zac." She answered honestly. "I can't even look at anyone right now without feeling humiliated. I can't even talk to my mom and dad without feeling like I just want to die. I'm so embarrassed. If I'm not strong enough to get through this, then there won't be a 'we'. She choked on the last few words.

"Nessa, then let _me_ be your strength. Let me be strong enough for both of us so I can help you through. It's okay for you to feel weak right now. I'd be a little surprised if you weren't. But I won't let you give up on us. Not right now. Not when you need me the most, and when I need you too." Zac wasn't sure how he was going to gain this strength that he claimed to have. But he realized he would need her too, even in her weakness, if there was any hope of finding it.

Vanessa didn't have the strength to argue with him now. All she could focus on was that Zac said he still needed her. She had no idea why, but he said he did. That gave her just an ounce of courage to talk to him a little longer.

"Your mom…is on her way here." Vanessa was biting her bottom lip again, nerves raging in her stomach. She loved Zac's mom, but this meeting with her in a few short hours, would be different than ever before.

"I know." Zac answered. "Ness, I didn't send her down there, if that's what you're thinking. She offered to come and check on you. We're both very worried about you."

"Wait, what? She's coming to check on me?" Vanessa let another tear slip down her cheek. Her voice softened again. "She told me you wanted her to check on your apartment. She's coming by here to pick up the key. I thought you figured I was too much of a wreck to go check on things for you now." She sniffled.

"Don't think like that. I trust you Vanessa. I just worry about you. Don't you know that? And mom does too. When I told her everything that had happened, from before I left up to now, she got really worried. Then she insisted on coming down there to check on you in person. We love you Vanessa, I love you. And I don't want you to question that, ok?"

Two things struck Vanessa. First, Zac had told his mom _everything_. Second, he said he loved her. In three sentences he had successfully embarrassed her and then lifted her off her feet.

"I, I love you too Zac." She said softly.

"Then let me try to take care of you. Let's get through this together. Ok?"

"Ok." She answered again. She just wanted to smother herself in his arms and let him hold her all night long. She wanted to feel him beside her and let herself drift to sleep knowing he was going to take care of her. But she couldn't, not with him thousands of miles away.

Then it was like he read her mind. "I want to be there with you. I want to wrap you up in my arms and hold you until you go to sleep. But I can't do that yet. Can you do me a favor? It's gonna sound pretty weird but I think it might work."

"Weird thoughts are what got us into this mess Zac. Should I really believe that more of them can get us out?" Zac had to smile. She was right…but he was just thrilled that she was again saying 'us'.

"When mom gets there, go with her to my apartment and spend the night there. She knows what's going on Ness, she knows everything. Let her hold you and fall asleep in her arms. Let her take care of you tonight. If you'll do that for me, I'll know you're in good hands. That's about as close to my arms as I can offer you right now."

"I, I can try, I guess." Vanessa answered slowly. "But Zac, if she knows everything…doesn't she blame me for getting into this mess?"

"I don't think blame is a good word to use. She knows the fault doesn't just lie with you. She knows you were trying to do something that I requested and that puts part of the blame on my shoulders. It's our situation, and mom is willing to try and help _us_ through it." Zac sounded very sure of himself and what he was asking.

As Vanessa thought about his request over the next few minutes of their conversation she realized that she needed his mom, Starla. She realized that using Zac's mom would help her feel closer to him and that's what she needed right now. And perhaps Starla could even help her reach out to her own mom and dad.

When Vanessa finally broke off the phone call with Zac she made him promise to try and sleep. She agreed to spend the night at Zac's apartment with Starla, and to lean on her for support until Zac got home. She also realized that she needed to talk to her mom and dad. Before Starla arrived, they needed to know at least part of the story behind this photo scandal.

----------------------

Greg and Gina heard soft footsteps coming down the stairs. "Stella honey, can you go work on your homework upstairs?" Their twelve year old daughter knew something wasn't right, but no one had filled her in on what was going on. She only knew that her big sister was hurting and the tabloids had something to do with it. And she knew Starla Efron was on her way to L.A., meaning Zac was involved in this somehow.

Still, Stella Hudgens was smart enough not to ask any questions. Whenever she needed to know, they would tell her. So she complied without any questions or remarks. She gathered her books quickly and headed up the stairs. She only stopped a moment to hug her big sister at the bottom of the staircase. Vanessa graciously accepted that hug and kissed her little sister on the top of her head, giving her a soft, gentle smile. Then she rounded the corner and prepared herself to face her mother and father.

For the first time that afternoon Vanessa looked at Greg and Gina in the eyes. She faced them with tears in her own eyes but she seemed to have more courage, more strength now than she had had earlier. _Thank you Zac._ She thought.

"Mom, Dad, I need to explain." Gina stood up and opened her arms to her daughter. As Vanessa wrapped her arms around her mother, Greg pulled out the chair beside him and invited her to sit down. When she sat down he put his arm around her and wiped a strand of hair out of her face. They still hadn't said anything, or asked anything. So Vanessa decided to dive right in.

"A couple of years ago, when I was going out with Derek…" She saw Greg shake his head but he didn't say anything. She knew her father had not liked her previous boyfriend. "He wanted to…see me…and I told him pictures would be the only way. So he told me to take some and send them to him. I came home and took the pictures with my own camera, in my room, one day while you both were out." She stopped to catch her breath and wipe tears from her eyes. "I knew I shouldn't send them. I felt embarrassed for taking them, so I didn't send them to him right away. And I'm glad I didn't because I found out over the next few days that he was a real jerk. So I never sent him the pictures, and we broke up." Again she stopped, this time looking for the reaction in her parents' eyes.

Gina sat listening. She simply nodded her head and squeezed her husband's hand under the table. Greg looked as though he had plenty to say, but he didn't. Instead he just looked at Vanessa and said, "Go on."

Vanessa knew the look that Greg was giving her. It was that of a disappointed father. And she hadn't even reached the part of the explanation where she decided to share these pictures with Zac. Unknowingly, with that expression on his face, Greg had pushed Vanessa a little farther away. Vanessa decided to share only what was necessary with her parents. So she continued.

"When Zac left a couple of weeks ago, I wanted to give him something to help him _think about_ me. I remembered having the pictures still on my computer, so I tried to e-mail them to him." She saw the gruff look that appeared on Greg's face. Still he didn't say anything. "But when I tried to send them, something went wrong on the computer, with the e-mail. I asked Zac the next day if he'd gotten the pictures and he said, 'no'. I didn't think too much about them till last week when I started getting calls from the _Star_ magazine people. I talked to Zac again, to make sure he hadn't gotten the pictures and we both went through all the computer stuff we could think of. My computer said the e-mail was sent…but his computer never received the message. Next thing I know, here we are."

_There_, she thought, _I've told them. _She wished she had the strength to move her body back up to her room. Her mother seemed speechless. Her father couldn't decide if he was angry, hurt or disappointed. The look in his eyes was killing Vanessa. _Why don't they just yell at me and get this over with?_ Vanessa couldn't wait for Starla to get there. But for the moment she couldn't move.

"Why…" Greg started, unsure how to ask the question that was broaching his mind. "Why did you feel inclined to send Zac those pictures? And do you truly believe that _he_ did not turn them over to the tabloids?"

The same fire that had filled Vanessa's eyes earlier that afternoon returned. Gina recognized the fury because she had been the victim of it earlier in the day. But she didn't try to get between Vanessa and Greg. Her daughter needed to stand up for herself, and her husband needed to hear Vanessa's reasoning…and so did Gina.

Vanessa started with a quiet but angry voice, knowing that her parents were in a state of shock, just as she was. "Why I sent the pictures…is between me and Zac. Why I sent those pictures," she continued with a little more power in her voice, "is why I believe that Zac is NOT lying to me. It's the same reason that I would probably attempt to send them again if I felt so _inclined_." She threw her father's own choice of words back at him.

Greg was a bit startled by her tone and by the darkness in his daughter's eyes. He refused to raise his voice to her right now, knowing she was hurting, but he wanted to know. "What's that reason?"

Vanessa felt a little more strength building inside her heart. She knew it was strength she was gathering from Zac. She brought herself up out of her chair and stood, leaning against the table and looking her father directly in his eyes. "I love him." Neither father nor daughter blinked. They stared at each other for just a moment, Greg noticing that the earlier tears were no longer present in Vanessa's eyes.

Gina stood up as well and took a step toward Vanessa. But V turned without looking at her mother and headed back towards the stairs. Greg decided to ask one final question, knowing his daughter had offered them as much explanation as she was willing to. "Does he love you too?" He asked, working very hard to make the question sound sincere.

Without looking back Vanessa simply replied, "Yes." And then she walked up the stairs and back into her room.

--------------------------

Starla's drive to L.A. was thankfully uneventful. She couldn't get the thought of the pictures out of her head. She couldn't stop thinking about the pain she had heard in Vanessa's voice. And she couldn't stop thinking about the concern that had been in Zac's tone. She knew this was a situation that the two teens would have to come to grips with on their own. What she didn't know was _if_ the young couple had enough strength to get through this together.

Along the drive Starla caught herself thinking about the words that Zac wanted _her_ to tell Vanessa. _"I love her."_ It was a phrase that Starla had expected to hear. She had certainly envisioned it coming from two sparkling faces, not out of a dreary, tear-filled phone call. Even so, her imagination allowed her to wander into a future that included Zac and Vanessa together…and happy once again. _Those are the thoughts I need to convey to Vanessa._ Starla thought to herself.

She didn't want to wander too far into that future. But at least the thoughts of them still being together were more pleasant than the idea of this situation ripping them apart. Mrs. Efron simply wanted her son's girlfriend to hang on until he could get back home. She hoped her visit would somehow help.

Once she arrived in the Los Angeles neighborhood she took out the directions she had jotted down to the Hudgens' home. She drove slowly down their street and then pulled to a stop at the curb in front of their house. She sat there for a moment collecting her thoughts and willing herself to think again about her son's future, and the role that Vanessa might someday play in it. With that thought in mind and a soft smile on her face she stepped out of the car and headed toward the front door.

--------------------

Greg and Gina had sat quietly at the table when Vanessa had gone back to her room. Both were thinking about the conversation that had occurred and imagining that something had been left out. There had to be some detail that Vanessa wasn't sharing with them, some key that would unlock the person behind this photo scandal.

Gina spoke first, knowing that Greg was still trying to pin the blame on Zac. "I think Zac is telling the truth, Greg." She said with authority.

"Why?" was Greg's simple response.

"Because he hasn't given up on her Greg, it's very obvious that he knows what's going on. Do you see any of Vanessa's other friends here right now? Why do you think he's losing sleep in Australia over this when he could just say 'screw it' and leave her right now?" The words seemed to flow easily off Gina's tongue, but Greg wasn't convinced and she could see that.

Gina's voice grew more bold. "Why is Starla Efron on her way here right now to check on Vanessa? Not just a phone call, not merely an attempt to talk to Vanessa, but a three hour drive down here to check on Zac's girlfriend."

Greg's jaw was tight. He knew Gina was right, but something in his gut just couldn't give in to this boy _loving_ his daughter. The situation started flooding back into his head. "Why does this boy have a right to see my daughter naked?" His voice was loud even though he wasn't yelling. "Answer me that! Has he already seen her that way and needs pictures to remind himself? I'll say it again, NOBODY deserves to see my Baby Girl like that! I don't care that she took those pictures of herself. Why did he _need _to see them? A 19 year old boy does not NEED to see my Baby V. I won't hear of it!"

Gina didn't try to calm Greg, yet. He needed to get this out. And she was quite happy that Vanessa was not downstairs to hear the tirade. Although she knew Greg's voice was loud enough that Vanessa could probably hear it loud and clear from her room.

He stood, gritting his teeth, at the table for a moment with both fists clenched. He was done talking.

Vanessa wasn't shocked by her father's outburst. She had expected something like that to happen before she left the kitchen. She was grateful that he had held out until she was back in her room. V couldn't hear everything that he was saying, but she knew he still didn't think Zac deserved to see her like that. This made her grateful too, that she hadn't shared more about the reason she had offered to send Zac the pictures.

Their physical intimacy wasn't something she would likely describe to her father. It wasn't something she totally had a grasp of herself. She knew it was probably a subject that Starla would bring up. But she wasn't sure if it was a topic that she should discuss with the woman that she hoped would someday be her mother-in-law.

Vanessa heard Gina's voice begin when Greg's had been silent for a moment. She crept out of her room and stood silently on the stairs as she tried to hear her mother's response. This time the authority was still there, but Gina's voice had softened.

"Gregory Alan Hudgens. They are in love. Have you NOT seen them together or have you simply ignored it? You may not choose to _believe_ it, but the words have been spoken. Vanessa is 18 now. We've got to allow her to make her own decisions, right or wrong." Gina sat back down at the table.

"I agree with you…" she said soothingly. "I agree that a 19 year old boy doesn't _need_ to see her like that. But Zac _wants _to see her, and she obviously wants him to see her. Otherwise we wouldn't be having this discussion right now."

Gina and Greg both sat back in their chairs realizing that their little girl was very much an adult now. They both realized that they needed to offer her their support and strength. Neither was quite sure how to approach Vanessa again. Perhaps someone else could play mediator and open the door again.

After the fiery discussions over the past hour, the house grew quiet again. The sound of crying was absent, the phone had finally stopped ringing and the voices inside had calmed once again.

The sound of the doorbell broke the silence.

--------------------


	4. Revelations

Gina timidly approached the door as Starla stood nervously on the outside. Both women wanted the same outcome. Both wanted Vanessa to come through this mess and arrive safely on the other side. Both wanted to see Vanessa and her boyfriend stick through this situation and find a way to handle it together. Starla felt the courage to step out and help these _wants_ become reality. Gina was finding the courage to let another woman play a mothering role in her daughter's life.

As the door opened, both women gave the other encouraging smiles. Gina invited Starla into their home and took her to the kitchen. She quickly ushered her husband into the living room promising him that he would not be left out of anything. The two mothers sat together silently for just a moment before Gina spoke.

"After you called, Vanessa spoke to Zac again. She was much calmer after talking to him. We didn't try to eavesdrop, but it sounded like a much more rational conversation."

Starla breathed a sigh of relief. "Oh, thank God in Heaven. Zac was so worried when she wouldn't answer his calls… He wasn't sure what to think. I believe he was scared for Vanessa's life."

"Well I certainly don't think she's in for an easy time of this. These photos are going to be all over the place shortly and there's nothing we can do to stop them. Zac may have helped her pull out of her hysteria today, but I'm just not sure what to expect in the coming days." Gina had tried to go over the possibilities in her mind but her thoughts kept coming back to simply holding her little girl. She knew the inevitable was coming but she had no idea how to prepare Vanessa for it, or Zac, or even Greg for that matter. The onslaught of bad publicity was going to happen. And all Gina wanted to do was take Vanessa and hide her away. But she knew that solution wouldn't work.

"Then _we_ need to come up with a plan that will help _them_ get through this." Starla's statement was straight to the point. She knew there would be pain involved for Vanessa, and for Zac as well. Their best bet was to attempt to minimize that pain.

Vanessa had heard the doorbell and had again crept down the stairs to listen to the women's conversation. Starla continued. "Zac has asked me to take  
Vanessa to his apartment to spend the night tonight. Will you allow me to do that, to take her away from you for the night? I would like to talk to her and see if we can come up with some kind of statement that will beat these idiots to the punch." Gina shook her head. She didn't want to let Vanessa go.

But as soon as she heard Starla's request, Vanessa appeared in the kitchen. She had told Zac that she would go with his mom and she planned to stick to that plan. "Mom, it's ok. I need to go with Mrs. Ef – I need to go with Starla."

Starla turned to see a worn and pale Vanessa standing behind her. As she had imagined, the tear stains were still on her cheeks. The meek, timid voice that she had spoken to earlier was still present in Vanessa's tone. But there seemed to be more hope, more strength. And to hear Vanessa call her by her first name again, was a simple clue to what was happening in Vanessa's mind and heart.

As she spoke Starla's name Vanessa looked directly into her face…Zac's face. V could see the resemblance now. Why hadn't she seen it before? Those eyes, the nose, even the lips and cheekbones, they were a mirror image of the man she had come to love. Vanessa quickly took the few remaining steps needed to sink into Starla's waiting embrace. She grasped hold of the back of Starla's sweater and buried her face into her shoulder. The tears came again as she thought about Zac, and Starla, and how they were trying to help her.

"Thank you." Two simple yet meaningful words came from Vanessa's mouth as she tried to calm herself again. Starla just placed her hand on Vanessa's head and smoothed her hair as the young girl cried on her shoulder.

"Don't thank me, thank Zac." Starla whispered into Vanessa's ear. "He loves you Vanessa, he told me so, and he doesn't want to see you hurting." Starla placed her hands on Vanessa's wet cheeks and pulled her away just enough to look into her eyes. "Did you hear me?" She asked gently. Vanessa nodded and smiled as she eased her grip on Starla's shoulders.

"I know." She whispered through her tears. "He called me back after he talked to you. He told me that too." Her smile grew just a little bigger.

"And you love him too, I take it?" Starla questioned. Again Vanessa nodded and smiled.

Vanessa and Starla both wiped away tears as they turned to look at Gina. V's mom seemed to be in awe of the scene she was witnessing. Her daughter had found a place in another mom's heart. Gina didn't feel like she was losing Vanessa. Instead she hoped this new confidante could help them find some much needed answers.

Gina handed Zac's door key back to Vanessa, knowing that she would be spending the evening with Starla. The three made their way into the living room to let Greg know what was going on.

With a very simple explanation Vanessa told her father where she was going and with whom and asked if it was ok. Greg looked to Gina knowing that this plan had already been approved. He stood and hugged his daughter; put a hopeful, reassuring hand on Starla's shoulder; and placed his other arm around Gina's waist. The Hudgens stood and watched as Starla helped Vanessa load her overnight bag into the car, buckle her seat belt and head to her boyfriend's apartment, with his mother.

------------------------

Vanessa was very quiet on the ride to Zac's apartment. The emotional roller coaster that she had ridden through the afternoon had again started an uphill climb. She wasn't sure what to say to Starla. She wasn't sure how Starla felt about this entire mess. V wanted to believe that Starla was there to help her. But she knew that this was Zac's mom, and protecting him was her first job. As the thoughts flooded her mind, Vanessa didn't even realize that Starla had reached over and taken hold of her hand. She also didn't notice the teardrops that were again falling down her weary face.

At the apartment complex Starla was playing Zac's role. She could tell that Vanessa was lost in her thoughts again. So Starla ushered Vanessa out of the car and up to Zac's door. She took the key from Vanessa's hand and turned the lock opening the entrance to Zac's Los Angeles home.

The apartment was no different than the last time Vanessa had been there just a few days ago. As she walked in she could smell Zac's cologne. She could feel the warmth of his breath as they cuddled on the couch. She could almost feel him holding her. She was glad she came here with Starla.

Zac's mother noticed the pictures that adorned the open spaces in Zac's living room now. There were pictures of him with Vanessa on the movie set; a couple of candid shots of Zac and Vanessa attending a party. And there was one taken on the golf course in Utah as they were shooting HSM2. It showed the two of them sitting together on a picnic blanket. Zac appeared to be in mid-sentence describing something to Vanessa. She was obviously smitten with whatever he was saying, and was watching him adoringly with a childish grin on her face.

Starla had to smile as she looked at that picture. The outfits they were wearing were the same as the ones they had on in the movie. Someone must've snapped that shot as they were actually taping the scene. She could remember the scene, one in which Zac's character started a food fight with Vanessa's character and then they ended up dancing together, even after the sprinklers were turned on them.

Starla grabbed that frame and sat down on the couch to admire it further. She looked up at Vanessa who had just put her bag on the kitchen table. V would have normally taken her bag directly to Zac's bedroom but tonight she didn't feel quite comfortable doing that. Starla patted the couch beside her, hoping Vanessa would come and sit with her.

"I, I don't know what to say…even where to start." Vanessa said as she gingerly sat down beside Starla. While Starla was attempting to seem relaxed on the sofa, Vanessa chose to sit on the edge of the cushions with her arms leaning on her knees. Starla kept holding the picture frame, but reached out with one hand to rub Vanessa's back. The older woman could feel how tense the teenage girl was, the muscles in her back felt like coils of steel underneath her soft skin.

"Then don't say anything about it yet. Let's work our way into it slowly." Starla handed the picture frame to Vanessa and then put her arm around her shoulder. "Do you remember this picture being taken?"

"Honestly," Vanessa sniffled and wiped away a few random tears, "No, I don't. Chuckie's sister apparently took it either during our final rehearsal or while we were actually taping the scene." Vanessa smiled as she looked again at this now-familiar picture.

"Do you remember what you guys were talking about?" Starla inquired.

"Hmmm, our lines were about saving for college, and scholarships. Zac kept messing up part of his line about his parents having to save 'pennies, unlike the people at the country club.' He kept going over and over that line and I noticed how the worry-lines kept running across his forehead. I just wanted to reach over and wipe them away." Vanessa remembered.

"You wish Zac was here to wipe yours away right now, don't you sweetheart?" Starla asked. She didn't realize the picture would lead them down the very road they needed to follow.

Vanessa tentatively sat back on the couch and turned to look at Starla. "Uh-huh." She said as she felt another tear run down her cheek.

"Oh honey," Starla scooted closer to her and opened her arms to Vanessa. Vanessa slid into those arms once again knowing they were the closest thing to Zac that she could have at the moment. Zac had told her to curl up in his mom's arms and fall asleep. She knew she couldn't do that yet, but Vanessa pushed in as tightly against Starla's body as she could.

Starla wrapped her arms around Vanessa as she started to feel her wave of hysterical tears coming on again. This time she wasn't going to let this young lady run away or lock herself in a room.

Vanessa gulped for air, and for a moment she stayed silent. Then amid the tears she tried to talk to Starla. "I-don't know-what's going to happen now." Vanessa cried onto Starla's shoulder. "I-need-Zac-here." She finally managed to say then she put the picture of them on the coffee table. "I need him to hold me, I need-to-feel-his-arms around me. I just need his touch."

Starla took a deep breath then asked, "How close have you and my son gotten?" She never loosened her grip on Vanessa's shaking body. "I'm not judging you Vanessa but I would like to know how close you and Zac are."

V realized that Starla was simply trying to help, somehow. She hadn't spoken to anyone about her closeness with Zac, not even her best friend. Before Zac left they had been so intimate…that's why she wanted to send the pictures to him. But how was she supposed to describe that to Starla? She felt embarrassed at the moment, but realized she needed to try and tell her.

"He and I…we…we were _very_ close before he left." She sputtered softly through her tears, remembering the night before Zac had left L.A.. Vanessa tried to look up at Starla but felt the woman gently put her chin on Vanessa's head.

"That's when Zac asked you to send him the pictures, wasn't it?" Starla murmured.

"Yes." Vanessa answered. "I was so embarrassed when I admitted to him that I had taken pictures like that…I wasn't sure how he would react. I could see the wheels turning in his head and it scared me a little. Then when he looked at me again, there was almost a hunger in his eyes." Vanessa remembered.

"Your admission…aroused him…didn't it." Starla stated. She felt Vanessa nod her head in agreement. "Did that scare you?"

This time she felt Vanessa shake her head. "No." Vanessa whispered. "I actually think it did the opposite. I think it excited me to know that he was interested in seeing me like that." She was a bit ashamed to admit this to Zac's mother, but she seemed so easy to talk to…and Vanessa felt like she wanted to open up to her. However, she stopped a moment and Starla could feel her hesitation.

"I, I don't know if I should be telling you this. I don't want to betray Zac's trust. And I don't want you to think any less of him." Vanessa said calmly.

"I understand. And if you don't want to tell me, that's fine. But Vanessa, if you can think of this as helping me keep a strong connection with my son then I hope you'll continue. I think this will help you, and Zac, in the long run. You've got to realize how strong your feelings are for one another and feed off that strength." She took Vanessa's face in her hands again. "If you want to share the intimate details with me, that's fine. I'm NOT going to use them to embarrass Zac. He doesn't even have to know that you've told me. I promise you."

Vanessa noticed the sincerity in Starla's gaze. Her comfort level grew with this woman, with every passing moment, so she felt she needed to continue. She took a deep breath and put her head back on Starla's shoulder. "We've been physically close for a while now. That was pretty obvious in the pictures that came out from our Hawaii trip." Starla felt Vanessa's shoulders droop a little thinking about those pictures showing up in the media.

"But Starla, we've never allowed ourselves to, well, how should I put it…explore each other with our clothes…off…until that week that Zac left. We had always kept at least our underwear or bathing suits on. I've touched Zac, he's touched me, but we had always kept at least some clothing on." Vanessa felt her cheeks flush. The week before Zac left had been amazing. She was thankful already to Starla for letting her relive this part of her relationship with Zac.

"What was different about the week he left?" Starla asked. As a mother she wasn't sure she wanted the intimate details now. But if this was helping Vanessa, she reminded herself that she was there to listen to whatever Vanessa wanted or needed to tell her.

"I was so afraid of him leaving. I don't know why, but I just felt like I needed to be as close to him as I possibly could. So one night, when Zac came home, I was waiting for him…in bed…um, naked." Vanessa confessed.

Starla worked to stay calm although she could feel her heart pounding and a lump forming in her throat. So many things, so many emotions were running through her body at the time…she wasn't sure she could let Vanessa finish. But the thoughts of this photo scandal pushed the emotions aside. Starla realized that if Vanessa felt comfortable enough to tell her these things, she needed to be adult enough to accept the fact that her son, and his girlfriend were growing up.

Vanessa could hear Starla's heart pounding. She started to sit up and lean against the couch, but then realized that she needed that strong rhythmic sound to help her continue this journey. The sound of Starla's nervous heartbeat reminded Vanessa of the familiar sound coming from Zac's chest each time she'd been able to lay her head against his bare breast. _In that case the sound had usually put her to sleep_, she recalled.

"H-how did Zac react when he found you there?" Starla assumed this had taken place in the very apartment where they were now sitting.

"Startled, at first," Vanessa admitted. "He knew I was going to be here. We had planned to spend every night that week together before he left. And he knew I'd probably be in bed because he'd had a late night basketball game with the guys at the gym. He didn't know it until he climbed into bed next to me and got under the covers with me."

"Did it seem to scare him?" Starla didn't want to seem like she was overly interested in this part of their relationship. And she hoped that someday she could forget the scene that was taking place in her mind as Vanessa described their intimacy.

"Not really. He thought I was asleep already so he just changed into his shorts and came to bed. When he put his arm around me to give me a kiss, he realized something was different. He paused for a minute and I rolled over to see his reaction. He just pulled the sheet back and kinda stared at me for a minute."

Now Starla was very uncomfortable. She wasn't a therapist of any kind, and right now she almost felt like her son had been seduced by this young woman. She also felt her cheeks blush as she listened to Vanessa. But her heat had risen not only from embarrassment but a little from anger at the thought of Zac being tempted.

_Somehow I need to control my temper. I'm here as a mother to Zac AND Vanessa. I'm not here to judge and I don't even know that Zac can find out that she and I have had this kind of conversation. _Starla's mind was quarreling with her heart and any sense of logical reasoning. _What have I gotten myself into?_ She wondered. Then she realized that Vanessa had continued talking.

"He never said anything, he just stepped back from the bed and took off his clothes and lay back down beside me." Vanessa blushed again at the thought of Zac's naked body lying beside her, touching her. "We went to sleep like that, that night."

Vanessa realized once again who she was talking to. "Starla, I'm sorry. This can't be comfortable for you to listen to. I, I shouldn't be telling you this." Starla saw the tears come back into Vanessa's eyes as she turned her head away from her. "I, I really wish Zac was here." Vanessa cried.

Starla's heart softened. The scared voice from the answering machine was back. She knew Vanessa's emotions were raw. The 18 year old was finally getting a break from the horrendous feelings that had tortured her through this day. Starla knew the last few minutes had given Vanessa a reprieve from the heartache. So she knew that she had to let her continue.

"Nessa," Starla used Zac's nickname for his girlfriend, "I'm fine. You need to do this, talk to me."

Vanessa turned back to Starla who once again took the girl into her mothering arms. "Go on, tell me what happened."

"The next day was the day before Zac was leaving." Vanessa relaxed again into Starla's hold. "We stayed in bed like that, just laying there with each other till almost noon. Then Zac got up and threw some clothes on and started packing for the trip. I went and took a shower and got dressed and then sat on the bed and we talked while he was packing."

Starla felt her own reprieve at this part of the conversation. She was much more comfortable thinking of two fully clothed teenagers instead of the bedroom scene Vanessa had described. But from her earlier conversation with Zac, she knew that wasn't where it ended.

"At some point, while we were talking, Zac found one of my bra's." Starla again felt heat in Vanessa's cheeks and knew she was blushing. That made two of them, again. "He tossed it to me and told me not to worry about wearing it that night because he wanted to repeat the night before." Vanessa stopped to clear the lump that had formed in her throat.

"I asked him if he'd liked what he saw the night before and he said he did." Starla felt some tension forming again in Vanessa's shoulders. "That's when he joked about taking some pictures of me to remember me while he was gone. And I told him I already had some." She stopped there, now she didn't want to continue.

"Vanessa, there's more, isn't there? Did Zac do something to pressure you? Did he make you feel like you HAD to send those pictures to him?" Starla now had anger for another reason. She believed her son loved this girl, but had he forced her to do something that she didn't want to do?

"No! Absolutely not!" Vanessa didn't hesitate to answer that question. But again she hesitated to continue although she knew she needed to.

"He was, well, _aroused_, at just the mention of pictures. He asked me to describe them to him and then he asked me why I had them. I had figured that would put a damper on his arousal…but it didn't. He tried to keep packing while I was telling him why I took them. Then he got kinda mad that my ex-boyfriend was such a jerk to me, so he came over and sat next to me on the bed. We started kissing and Zac told me that I deserved better…and that he wanted to be that person."

"Kissing led to touching and before either of us realized it, we were back to where we had left off the night before." Vanessa was trying to be as careful as possible with her words now. "We touched each other, in different ways, than we ever had before." Again she stalled.

"But Zac said you didn't…" Starla wasn't sure what words she wanted to use to finish that sentence.

"…make love?" Vanessa finished it for her. "In the traditional sense? No. We didn't."

The mothering side of Starla finally came through, even though she didn't mean for it to. "What about in the _non-traditional sense_?" She asked firmly but calmly. "Did you take precautions?"

Vanessa was a bit stunned at the question, but knew she deserved that. And she knew Starla deserved an answer. With all she had already shared with this woman, this should be an easy part of the conversation.

"Even with the immense amount of pleasure that I'm pretty positive we both felt, nothing we did to each other really required…_precautions_. But for my own well-being, my mom had me start on birth control last year. I've been very adamant about taking it. But Starla, so you are aware, this is the first time I've ever even come close to having sex…period."

Starla could see the truth in her eyes. "I'm sorry to do this…but back to the pictures, please?" Starla beckoned.

"We were still laying in bed together and Zac was looking at me again. He got a little embarrassed, it seemed, and then he asked me if he could take _those_ pictures with him on the trip." Starla breathed in and out slowly. This is where her son's actions had pushed this young lady. "I reminded him that we only have one printer at our house and there was NO WAY I was going to print those photos. So I offered to e-mail them to him…and he agreed."

"But they never got to him." Starla worked to get to the end of this story, the part that had brought so much pain already.

"Not according to Zac." Vanessa stated.

"Do you believe him Vanessa?"

She paused for a moment before answering. When her parents had asked her similar questions that afternoon her eyes had immediately filled with fire. But coming from Zac's own mother…Vanessa realized that it was a question she needed to answer honestly, without the anger, from her heart.

"Yes, I do believe him." She said. "I love him, Starla. That's why I believe him. That's part of what love is, isn't it?" Starla nodded at her in agreement.

"Right now," Starla took Vanessa's hand into her own and held it. "You remember the intensity that you felt for Zac the first time you really touched each other. You file that away as 'good memory number 1' and you keep that within easy reach."

Starla's face turned a bit pale with the seriousness of her next statement. "Because the two of you are going to need every good memory that you can get, every thought of closeness that you can muster up, to get through this situation. And whatever you do, take every step together. If you really love each other, take every step together. If you decide something together and you believe in that decision, then stick to it. Even if me and David, or your mom and dad disagree, YOU stick to it, because you and Zac have made that decision together! Does that make sense?"

Vanessa simply nodded. She knew then that talking to Starla was one of those decisions…because she and Zac had made it together.

------------------

The two women sat in silence for the next half hour. Vanessa was curled into Starla's embrace. Starla would run her fingers through Vanessa's hair and caress her cheek or arms every few minutes. Vanessa sniffled and let a few more tears fall as different thoughts ran through her mind. So much had been said between the two; they were both simply trying to remember the conversation and also they were trying to think about the future.

Vanessa finally sat up and grabbed a tissue to wipe her face. "I'm going to go put my bag in Zac's room and change clothes." She looked at Starla and gave her a soft smile.

_Zac's room, their room…_ Starla thought. She nodded at Vanessa. "Need any help?" she offered.

"No, I don't think so." Vanessa answered. "Oh, why don't you take the bed tonight?" Sleeping really hadn't crossed Starla's mind, although she was feeling mentally exhausted.

Zac's mother once again thought about the things Vanessa had told her that evening. She especially recalled the events that Vanessa said that she and Zac had shared, in bed. With that on her mind, Starla shook her head vigorously. "No, dear. I'll be just fine on the couch. You take the bed. I know you'll be more comfortable there."

Vanessa blushed. She could tell that Starla was thinking about their previous conversation. And she was correct, Vanessa would feel more comfortable in the bed…the place where she had been closest to Zac. She knew she'd be able to smell his scent and would probably be able to dream of him being next to her. She never wanted to lose that feeling. "Thanks Starla." Vanessa said as she took her bag to the back room of the apartment.

Starla took a deep breath and stood up from the couch. It was dark out now. She realized she hadn't called David when she arrived in L.A. Her husband knew her plans, and she knew he wouldn't call her. He didn't want to interrupt a conversation that could have been happening at any time. She grabbed her cell phone and flipped on the light in Zac's kitchen area. She pulled one of the dining room chairs from the small table and sat down, flipping through the junk mail on the table as she dialed her home number.

"Starla? Thank God, I was beginning to get worried. You should've hit L.A. two hours ago." David answered in a slight panic.

"Sorry honey." Starla apologized. "Things have gone better than I expected. But there's still a young lady up here who is very hurt, scared and depressed. Your son has made quite an impact on her life."

"She wants him there with her, doesn't she." David could only imagine what sort of emotional state Vanessa was in. He felt a little guilty that Zac couldn't be with her, but they all knew it was for the best for Zac to finish his work before coming home.

"Is she sleeping?" David asked.

"No, she's unpacking her bag in Zac's room and changing clothes. I'm glad to be here with her though. She's shared a lot with me in the past couple of hours. I think they can pull through this David, but they've got to stick together." Starla confessed.

"Publicity nightmare…can Zac handle it?" David thought about his son's career and future.

"Zac's a fighter. Vanessa is too. That's why I think they can do this. Screw the publicity factor. I don't think this will end either of their careers. It's a teenage mistake. It's not like she's posed for Playboy or starred in some porno flick. She's only 18. If they – if _we_ can all show a strong front on this, I believe they can get through this." Starla glanced at the store ads laying on the table as she waited for her husband's response.

"Do we need to sit down with them now, and with Greg and Gina and try to lay this out?" David was ready to come to L.A. if it meant this nightmare could go away sooner rather than later.

"No, not with the way the press is hounding them right now. I certainly don't think we can ignore this, but we're not going to let them get swarmed over either. Vanessa's publicist will probably need to be involved, but we need to come up with a family plan before we even go that far. I don't think we can do that until Zac gets home." Starla had ideas, but she wanted to be able to see her son face to face to talk about them with him and Vanessa.

"That's two weeks Starla, can Vanessa hang in there that long?" David's concerned heart was coming out.

"We'll see. She and I will talk about that before I leave her. I don't want to push anything right now." Starla watched as Vanessa walked back into the living room and sat back down on the couch. V turned and smiled at Starla, knowing she was on the phone with her husband.

"Are you coming home tomorrow?" David wondered out loud.

"I don't know. I'll see how things go tonight. I'll give you a call around lunchtime tomorrow, I'm not going to rush anything, you know." Starla answered.

"So you two are getting along ok?"

"Absolutely. We're absolutely fine." Starla watched as Vanessa worked to get comfortable on the couch. She put a pillow behind her head and stretched her legs out along the cushions. "Hey, I've gotta go. I'll call you tomorrow, 'k?"

David was quiet for a moment. "You can't tell me anything else right now?"

"Nah," Starla said quietly. "It's better if I don't right now. When I get home we can talk about it. Or I'll let you know if maybe you should come down here. Nessa and I just need to talk some more."

"Nessa?" David was curious.

"Zac's nickname for her. I'm not going to steal it from him, but it seems to help her calm down a little. Especially thinking about Zac. It just seems to help." Starla couldn't see the loving smile that Vanessa had on her face. The young lady was listening to the conversation, Starla knew that. But she didn't know the sense of contentment that was filling Vanessa's heart. Each time Starla mentioned Zac's name, or Zac's nickname for her, Vanessa felt her heart grow a little warmer inside.

"Gotta go honey, I love you." Starla finished up the conversation.

"Love you too." Came from the other end of the line.

Starla closed her phone and walked back over to the couch. This time it was Vanessa who sat up and opened her arms. Starla couldn't help but think that she looked like a little girl who wanted to be held. She sat back down on the couch and took Vanessa in her arms again. Vanessa kissed Starla on the cheek and snuggled up in her arms again. "Thank you." Vanessa smiled and started thinking about Zac's advice again.

"You tired sweety?" Starla asked her as she started petting her hair.

"Mm-hmm" Vanessa answered. "Zac suggested that I snuggle up with you and try to go to sleep. Is that ok?"

Starla smiled down at her. She'd never had a daughter, but she imagined this might be her chance. "Of course it is. I'm right here, and Zac's right here in both our hearts. You work on having some sweet dreams baby girl and we'll tackle this mess again tomorrow."

If Vanessa could've crawled into Starla's lap she would have. Her head drifted from Starla's shoulder into her lap and she finally found a comfortable spot. Letting the exhaustion finally take over, Vanessa closed her eyes and began to relax. "Night mom."

Starla just smiled and continued to caress her new daughter's face until she knew she had finally fallen asleep.

-------------------------

Starla leaned her own head back against the couch and worked to relax. She began to try and formulate some plan in her head that would rid her children of this…what had David called it?…publicity nightmare. Another half hour went by and Vanessa seemed to be sleeping peacefully in her lap. She looked down at the face of the weary little girl and smiled at her. Starla could imagine Vanessa in her future, in their future. And at that moment she could envision a much smaller child with dark brown curls and tan skin curled up in her lap. It was a thought that made Starla smile even bigger, and made her heart pound a little faster.

Her cell phone rang on the table under the lamp beside the couch. Starla quickly picked it up, seeing Zac's number appear on the screen. "Good morning!" she answered quietly.

Zac could hear some relief in his mother's voice. "Good morning to you too…or goodnight, should I say? Where are you?" Zac asked quickly.

"I – we're at your apartment." Starla continued softly.

"Nessa was willing to talk to you? She went with you? Mom, is she ok…are _we_ ok?" Zac tried to sound hopeful but Starla could hear the fear in his voice.

"You're ok Zac. You are _both_ ok…and still together. I don't think that's something you have to worry about right now. She wants you here more than anything right now, but we won't get into that again, hear me?"

"Yes ma'am." Zac answered reluctantly. "Is she feeling any better?"

"I'd say yes. She's asleep right now. Apparently you gave her some advice earlier, about me helping her fall asleep?" Starla could feel a smile forming on Zac's face.

"Did she really take me up on that advice?"

"She's asleep in my lap right now. What exactly did you tell her to do Zachary? I thought for sure she'd rather fall asleep in your bed." Now she felt her son blushing.

Zac cleared his throat. "I, I just told her to curl up with you. That I knew she would be safe and that you would be the closest thing that she can get…to me…right now. I didn't care where she went to sleep, as long as she calmed down enough to get to sleep."

Just then Vanessa moved around a little on the couch. "I don't know Zac…I just really wish you were here." She said in her sleep. Starla noticed her face contorting and she seemed to be getting restless.

"Mom, everything ok?" Zac asked.

"I, I think Vanessa's having a bad dream. Zac, let me put the phone close to her face and you talk to her a minute. She's asleep but she's asking you to be here with her. Maybe if you talk to her it'll help." Starla pulled the phone from her ear and held it close to Vanessa's face. She could hear Zac's voice as he started talking to his girlfriend.

"Nessa, baby, I'm right here. It's gonna be fine. You try to relax and I'm going to help take care of things."

Starla could see Vanessa's face relaxing just a bit with the sound of Zac's voice. "I'll try." She responded, then she mumbled, "I love you."

"I love you too. I'll be home soon. Dream about Hawaii. We'll go back there soon and build some more sandcastles!" Zac wanted her to have sweet dreams if possible.

Starla put the phone back to her own ear. "That seems to have helped. She relaxed and isn't restless now. Seems like you know when she needs you, huh?"

"This is going to tear me apart mom, you know that, right?" Zac stated again. "I have a hard time being away from her period, even when everything's ok. _This_ is when she really needs me and I'm on the other side of the planet. This sucks!"

"Honey, I know. Listen Zac, it's two weeks. I'm here. You're dad can be here. Greg and Gina are here. Let us hold down the fort till you get home. Trust us Zac, we're not going to let anything happen to her."

"I know, I know. It's just not the same. Mom, what did she tell you?"

"The same thing you told me, with some added details." She felt Zac blush again.

"How many added details? This is _my_ girlfriend mom, not one of _your_ college buddies."

"Zachary, I just opened the door. I let her share with me. She gave me the details that _she_ thought I could handle and that _she_ wanted to give. I didn't push the issue Zac, I just opened the door." Zac was quiet on the other end.

"Were you comfortable with her talking to you?" He finally asked.

"I was Zac. She felt comfortable talking to me and that made me feel good. I was just happy to see her and that she was willing to talk to me at all. She didn't want to leave her house Zac. But she came here with me and we eased into the conversation. I think we both feel a lot closer to each other. I'm not going to lie to you Zac. She was more open with me than I expected. But I think she needed to be. She was just trying to help me understand how close you two have grown and why this mess is scaring her. She's not just worried about herself, she's worried about you and how this will affect you too."

"You know I love her mom. I'll do whatever I can to help her. Can you help her know that, please?" Now Starla could hear the love and concern in his voice.

"I'm doing my best Baby, I'm doing my best. Hey Zac…she called me 'mom'." Starla smiled at that revelation, thinking back to Vanessa falling asleep.

Zac smiled. "I'm glad. That means a lot. I gotta go, makeup is calling. Thanks Mom! I love you."

"Love you too dear. Zac, take care of you and just get back here. Call Vanessa when you get home tonight. Just remember to give her some time to sleep. I don't know if she'll be back home yet or what, but call her." Starla's suggestion was more of an order to her son.

"Don't worry mom, I'll be talking to her, I promise. Gotta go."

Starla knew very well that he'd be talking to her. Her job now was going to be keeping Vanessa's spirits up enough to pull her through until Zac could get home. That would be a joint task between her, Gina, David, Greg and some of V's close friends…if she wanted them involved. Right now, family came first.

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	5. Moms' Plan

**This one's a short chapter, but gives a little insight from concerned moms. Thanks for reading! Hope you enjoy.  
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She gently lifted Vanessa's head from her lap and got up from the couch. She placed a pillow under V's head and watched for a moment to make sure she was comfortable again. Then Starla took a blanket and covered her up. Vanessa nuzzled into the pillow and pulled the covers up to her chin. Starla brushed a few stray hairs out of V's eyes and walked away from the couch.

Starla peeked out the living room window and noticed a number of cars lining the street out front. _Paparazzi_ …she thought and glanced back at Vanessa. They might be camping here for a couple of days. She wasn't about to let those hounds have their day with Vanessa right now.

Zac's mother walked around his apartment a couple of times, stretching her legs. She realized she had been sitting for nearly five hours between the drive and the talk with Vanessa. She had to move around. She wandered to the bathroom in Zac's bedroom and noticed the feminine touches that had been added to his décor.

Vanessa had obviously picked out the bedding set that now covered the double bed. More pictures of the two of them together were sitting on the dresser. A picture of Vanessa, the cover shot from her first CD, was sitting on the bedside table. And two family pictures were hanging on the wall. The first showed Zac, Starla, David and Dylan with Starla's parents. The other portrayed Vanessa with Gina, Greg and Stella. Again Starla thought about those two families combining.

Those thoughts took in a little more of the reality of the current situation. To help Vanessa and Zac come through this situation the families needed to work together. She quickly headed back to the living room and grabbed her phone again. Vanessa was still sleeping peacefully so she moved into the dining area to make another phone call.

Starla felt the nerves building in her stomach as Vanessa's mother answered the call. "Gina, it's Starla. I just wanted to check in with you."

"How's my baby, is she okay? Where is she?" Gina's concern was obvious. Starla knew this woman was scared for her daughter and she could imagine that Gina may be a bit jealous that Vanessa would come and talk to her about this situation.

"She's doing well, all things considered." Starla started. "We're here at Zac's apartment. Vanessa's asleep right now." She looked back at the couch and watched Vanessa for just a moment.

Gina continued nervously, "Did she talk to you about any of this?"

"She did." Starla herself was nervous as well. "Gina, can we have a 'mom to mom' talk for just a little bit?"

"I'd love to…but should we do this over the phone? Why don't I come to Zac's apartment?" Gina offered.

"I think that's a good idea, _if_ you can make it through all the press that's milling around. Do you mind?" Starla thought this would be a good start to their family connection.

"I'll be there in twenty minutes." Gina replied. "Do you mind salads for dinner? I'll stop and grab a couple on the way over."

"That'd be wonderful. I haven't eaten since lunch. Do you mind grabbing a large diet coke as well?" Starla was grateful for the offer of food.

"No problem. I'll be there in a few."

The two moms hung up their phones knowing that their cooperation and teamwork would be essential to help their children.

------------------------

Gina arrived and covered her face as she got out of the car. She waded through the sea of reporters that had gathered by Zac's apartment. No questions were answered, not even the ones asking when Zac would be home. Gina was a bit perturbed by their presence and was thankful to finally reach Zac's door.

Starla quickly answered the door and let Gina into the apartment. She motioned for Gina to follow her to the dining room table where they sat to eat. Gina had grabbed salads for her and Starla as promised. But she also grabbed a sandwich for her daughter who was still asleep on the couch. They put that in the refrigerator and sat down to talk.

Starla recounted for Gina, minus the intimate details, the story that Vanessa had told her earlier. "It certainly hasn't taken the media hounds long to pick up on this." She finished.

Gina felt that Starla knew more about Vanessa and Zac's relationship than she was sharing, which made her a bit jealous. "Did Vanessa tell you how close she and Zac have become? I'm certainly not naïve, Starla. I know how much time she spends with him, and I know that many times she's spending the night here, and there's only one bedroom." Gina and Starla's eyes met briefly before Starla looked back down at her food.

"Vanessa did go into some details, Gina…I don't think I should share those with you, I think she should. If you're like me, I know you're wondering if they've 'taken that next step.' From what both of them have told me, and I believe them, they have NOT done that. Vanessa did tell me that you had her start on birth control last year and I think that was a wise move…but I don't think it's been a requirement, yet." Starla watched Gina's reaction.

"Vanessa has told me the same thing in the past. But before Zac left I noticed a change in her. I hinted around about it during that week, but the day after he left, I asked her face to face. She told me they hadn't had sex. And, like you, I believe her."

A groggy Vanessa sat up on the couch and looked around. "Mom? What are you doing here? I thought I heard your voice."

"I asked her to come over Vanessa. I hope that's ok." Starla answered. "We needed a mom talk, to try and get on the same page."

"Oh." Vanessa said shyly.

"Starla didn't tell me much more than you have sweetheart." Gina walked to the couch. "But would you be willing to talk to me, to tell me more, now that you've had a chance to talk to her…and since your father's not here?"

Vanessa looked at Starla, again like a scared little girl. She simply nodded at Vanessa as if to tell her it was ok. Vanessa took Gina's hand and started to sit back down on the couch. Then she turned and reached her other hand to Starla. Vanessa knew she would need moral support to talk to her mom on this subject matter. Starla quickly crossed the room and took Vanessa's hand. The three women sat on the couch, the two moms on either side of _their_ daughter.

Vanessa took a deep breath and told her mom what she had shared with Starla earlier. "Mom, I'm 18. I'm an adult now. You and daddy know I trust Zac, and I love him." This time she was able to speak to her mom calmly. "I believe him when he says he didn't get the pictures Mom. I believe him with all my heart, and I know that he's hurting for me and what I'm going through. And, I want you to believe him and trust him too."

Gina nodded and glanced at Starla with a silent "thank you" in her eyes. Starla nodded back. "I do believe you my darling. And I trust Zac too. He has proven himself over and over again. I see no reason NOT to trust him about this. But what do we need to do to handle the mess that's waiting right outside that door?" Now she was looking back at Starla.

"We're going to make this very simple." Starla stated. Vanessa could see that Starla's jaw was set. It was the same look that Zac got each time he was bound and determined about something. "No lying about this. It would just come back to haunt us." She looked at Vanessa. "It was a mistake made by a teenager and you regret that mistake. Now, it's time to move on. Enough said."

Vanessa nodded slowly but looked away from Starla and Gina. "But they're going to ask why I took them. They're going to ask who I was sending them to, and why. Zac and I…we're not ready to blab to the world that we're a couple yet."

Starla gently placed her fingers under Vanessa's chin and turned her face back around, to look into her eyes. "Listen to me. It was a mistake made by a teenager and you regret that mistake. Now, it's time to move on." Starla raised her eyebrows as she watched Vanessa's eyes. "Say it."

Vanessa looked at Gina who nodded at her. Starla was stating the truth, it was as simple as that. Vanessa took a breath and looked back at Starla. "It was a mistake _I_ made as a teenager. I regret that mistake. It won't happen again. Now, it's time to move on."

Starla shook her head. "Too much. You're still young and you don't know what the future holds. Don't make any promises." Vanessa's face dropped. Starla put her arm around the 18-year-old girl. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean that to sound cruel. I just meant…don't tell them it won't happen again. That's just going to be something we'll take for granted, because it's _NOT_ going to happen again. You don't have to tell them that."

Vanessa leaned her head onto Starla's shoulder. "Say it again." Starla said while stroking V's hair. Gina simply rubbed her daughter's back and watched the interaction between Vanessa and Starla.

Vanessa whispered, "It was a mistake I made as a teenager. I regret that mistake. Now, it's time to move on."

"That's it." Starla smiled. "Those are the words you use when these idiots attempt to attack you. Until we get through to your publicist, that's what you tell them. Even after we talk to your publicist, I don't think you need to say any more than that. Gina? Please tell me if I'm wrong."

"No." Gina answered. "No, I think this is fine. Sweetheart, you've got to believe this in your heart so that you can hold your head up while you say those words. I know you hurt and that pain isn't going away. But if you can, give them that answer and hold your head up, and have pride in yourself. Then that's going to go a long way toward your future."

Vanessa hugged her mom and kissed her cheek. "It was a mistake I made as a teenager. I regret that mistake. Now, it's time to move on." She said more strongly, followed by a few sniffles from the tears in her eyes. This time she kept her chin up and worked to set her jaw just as Starla had done…and just like she could see Zac doing.

"That's it." Starla smiled sweetly at her. "That's it Sweet Girl."

The three sat together on the couch for a few more minutes. Gina offered Vanessa the sandwich that she had brought in earlier, but Vanessa admitted she still wasn't hungry. Food was so far from her mind. Thoughts of Zac returning started filling her head. Thoughts of him holding her and telling her that it would all be ok. She suddenly wanted to be in his arms again, the exhaustion was setting in once more.

Vanessa took Starla and Gina's hands again and looked at each of them. "Do you mind if I...go to bed? I just can't think about this anymore."

Starla immediately thought about Zac's suggestion. "Are you sure you want to be, alone?" She didn't want to say anything to make Gina jealous, and she certainly didn't want to embarrass Vanessa.

Vanessa smiled back at her, understanding what she was thinking of. "No, I think I'll be fine this time. Thanks." She hugged both of her moms and turned to walk into Zac's bedroom.

His bed, _their bed_, was very inviting. It nearly beckoned her to lie down and sink into the mattress. So she gave in and did just that. As her face touched _her_ pillow she instinctively reached out to touch Zac beside her. Knowing he wasn't there she grabbed his pillow and pulled it close to her, hugging it with her arms and legs. She fell asleep breathing in his scent.

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	6. Two Weeks

Two weeks. Fourteen days. Three hundred thirty-six hours…give or take a few. Every minute after they left Zac's apartment was nearly excruciating. Vanessa, with Starla and Gina's help, practiced her answer to the almighty media. The three women left her boyfriend's apartment around three o'clock the following day. They had each been in contact with their significant others and had informed them of their intentions.

Swim through the sea of reporters. Cover Vanessa and usher her quickly into Gina's car. Drive directly to Vanessa's agent's office where they would be met by John, her agent, and Stephanie, her publicist. There would likely be others, but those were the main two. There would be a conference call with Zac and his agent/publicist. Walk out of that meeting with heads held high and go home.

Vanessa would decide if she wanted to be home with her parents, home with Starla and David, or home at Zac's apartment with someone staying with her. She would _NOT_ be left alone. That was Zac's demand. If Vanessa was going to be alone, he would be coming home early. Vanessa could hear Zac's jaw clench as he made that demand to her, to Starla and to Gina. She knew he would repeat it to them again during the conference call. Each of them knew not to fight that demand, but instead they assured him that she would not be out of their sight.

And honestly, Vanessa felt more loved at that moment than she ever dreamed she could. Her mothers, birth-mom and future mother-in-law (she assumed) were doing what Zac told them. And he was ordering them around to take care of her. She wasn't sure why, but she liked Zac being in control. She loved him more because he was taking control. From half a world away, he was taking control. Just like he had promised to do.

During the conference call John, Stephanie and Zac's agent, Josh, agreed on one more thing that Vanessa should do. But it wasn't something that Zac liked. Vanessa could hear the control in his voice again.

"You want her to what? Apologize? _NO!_ She has nothing to apologize for. No!" Zac sounded like he was coming through the phone. "Absolutely not!"

There was silence for a moment. Vanessa sat with tears in her eyes. Confused tears. She felt that love for Zac welling up in her again. The love that was trying his best to protect her and stand up for her. But she could also see the looks on the faces of these experienced media handlers, AND on the faces of her and Zac's parents. Greg and David had both come down to join them for the meeting.

Vanessa nervously raised her hand like a schoolgirl wanting to ask a question. "Can I have a minute, to talk to Zac, alone, please?"

The adults all looked at each other. They all looked at John, Vanessa's agent. He could see the urgency on Vanessa's face. She just wanted this meeting to be over with, but she also wanted the right answers to make this nightmare end quickly.

"Ten minutes." John said. "Josh, we're hanging up for ten minutes. We'll ring you back at 4:35. Zac, we're leaving the room. You're talking to Vanessa, alone. Unclench that jaw and think about this _PROFESSIONALY_ for her professional future, not the personal one. Ten minutes."

John, Stephanie and the parents left the room. Vanessa was left sitting alone at the conference table staring at the phone. Hesitantly she picked up the receiver. "Zac, Baby, are you there?"

"Yes, of course I'm here." He said gently. "Are you okay V? If this is too intense you tell us to stop, ok?"

"Zac, you know I can't do that. I've gotta leave this office today with answers. And it's got to be answers that we _ALL_ agree to. John's talking about my future. I'm thinking about my future and yours too. And I'm sitting here looking at everyone's faces." Vanessa stopped for a moment.

"You can't see my face. How do you know what I'm thinking?" Zac questioned.

"Zac, I can see your face. John nailed it. Your jaw is clenched. You're not smiling. Your eyebrows are scrunched and the worry lines are crossing your forehead. I can even see your fists are clenched too, even your hand that's holding the phone has white knuckles, doesn't it?"

Zac stared down at his right hand that was balled into a fist. Then he slowly released his death grip that was being used to hold the phone in his left hand. "No…" he said quietly. "At least not now."

Vanessa could hear him relax just enough for his features to all soften. "I think…that they are right Zac. I think I should apologize. Not to Star magazine or Entertainment Tonight…but to my fans, and to Disney. I don't wanna blow my chances to be in another HSM. That's what brought us together Zac. If they make another one and I can't be in it with you…it would just make my fears come true."

"If they won't let you be in the next HSM, then screw them. I won't be in it either." Zac answered, his hands tightening again.

"Release Zachary!" Vanessa almost shouted.

"What the…Vanessa, what was that?!" Zac raised his voice.

"Do I have your attention now? Will you listen to what I'm saying, for just a minute?"

"I'll listen, but I'm NOT releasing you." He mumbled.

"You are in control Zac. You've been in control of this, of me, since you sent your mom to get me yesterday." Vanessa started.

"I didn't send her…" Zac interrupted.

"Aaahh!" Vanessa scolded. "My turn to talk!"

"Sorry." Zac apologized like a wounded puppy.

"You don't know how much I love you right now for being in control. I probably would not have made it through last night without Starla being there. She was there because of you. And I am here at John's office, conferencing with you and Josh, and sitting here with _our_ parents because we agreed…at your insistence and Starla's, and mom and dad's…that our agents needed to be involved. Our parents are experts at being adults and being our parents. But John, Josh and Stephanie are experts at dealing with the mess I've gotten us into."

"Nessa…"

"My turn, remember? We've gotta listen to them Zac. If the three of them agree that I need to apologize then that's what I need to do. The looks on our parents' faces tell me that they agree with John. The feeling I'm getting in this room is that I need to apologize. Right now you're the only one disagreeing with that. Believe me, I _know_ why you're disagreeing. And I appreciate that. But I think I've got to swallow my pride on this and do what they're telling me to do. You can't have control of this part Zac. This part of it is in my hands." Vanessa stopped to catch her breath.

"Nessa…"

"What Zac?"

"I love you."

Vanessa smiled. "I love you too."

"Are ten minutes up yet?" Zac asked.

Vanessa glanced at the clock. 4:32. "We've got three minutes. Why?"

"I love you."

"Is that all you can say?" Again Vanessa smiled.

"I can just feel you smiling when I say it. That's all I want is for you to smile. If I say it constantly for the next three minutes will you smile the whole time?"

"Two minutes thirty seconds."

"I love you…I love you…I love you…I love you…"

"Stop, my cheeks are hurting."

"I love you…I love you…I love you…"

"Two minutes. Zac…"

"I love you…what?...I love you"

"Are you sure you can't come home yet?"

"I love you…please don't ask me that...I love you…I love you."

"Okay, seriously, stop. I'm smiling. I promise I'll smile for the next minute-thirty if you'll stop."

"Fine, I'm stopping…I love you."

"Zachary!"

"Fine, fine. I'm sorry I can't be there."

"It's ok. Your mom and dad are here. I can't believe they're here Zac. Yesterday I kept telling myself that they would hate me. I figured they would forbid you to ever talk to me again. Now they're here trying to help me."

"Us."

"Huh?"

"They're trying to help us. You aren't in this alone, remember?"

"Yeah, I remember." She answered softly. "Zac?"

"Yeah?"

"Thirty seconds."

"I love you!"

"I love you too. I'm going to apologize Zac."

"I know. And you're right to do that. And you know what?"

"What?"

"I love you."

He felt Vanessa smile again and then heard voices as the others made their way back into the room. Vanessa handed the phone back to John. "Back to the conference call Zac. I'm dialing Josh as we speak." Vanessa swore she heard Zac's jaw clench again as John clicked him back into the conference call.

Gina, Greg, Starla and David all noticed the smile on Vanessa's face when they came back into the room. It was the smile of a young lady who had again made a decision on her own. She may have consulted her boyfriend, the love of her life, but the decision had been hers. It was a decision that would help her regain her confidence and one that would help her face the world again.

That evening Vanessa Hudgens sent a message to Disney executives and to her fans, via Disney fan sites. "I apologize to Disney and my fans, for a mistake that I made as a younger teenager. I regret that mistake. Now, it's time to move on." Enough said.

Later that night Vanessa fell asleep in their bed at Zac's apartment again. Starla and David split shifts between the recliner and the couch in Zac's living room. Each of them looked in on Vanessa several times during the night. And when Zac called at six the next morning, David was awake and overheard V's end of the conversation.

"I'll be so glad when you're home too. I love you." Vanessa had closed her phone, placed it on the pillow beside her, hugged the pillow close and then returned to a peaceful sleep.

"Do we need to stay for two weeks, till Zac gets home?" David softly asked Starla when he found her awake in the recliner.

"I'd like to. She's much better now, and I know Gina wants her little girl home with her. But I don't feel right going back home before Zac can come back to my Sweet Girl." Starla sounded like she was referring to one of her own children.

"You've adopted her?" David asked with raised eyebrows.

"She called me 'mom', David."

"I'll book the hotel room. We can't stay here every night, our backs will be ruined."

"I'll talk to Gina a little later in the morning and figure out a schedule."

"How about talking to your Sweet Girl?" David smiled.

"I have a feeling she'll go along with whatever we decide on this subject. Since it was an order from _YOUR_ son. I doubt she'll go against it right now. She's strong, but she's not going to fight him on this."

One week, five days. The countdown to Zac's return was on.

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Vanessa kept her phone close by her over the next twelve days. Reporters called her home, Zac's apartment, they even called Starla and David's home in Toluca Lake. Luckily Zac's brother and grandparents were fielding those calls. No answers were given to any of them. "Talk to her publicist." Was the standard answer. The only calls to Vanessa's cell came from a few close friends who had been informed of the bitter details, her parents and Zac's parents whenever they weren't with her themselves, and of course, Zac.

The Efron and Hudgens parents could chart at least four calls a day from Vanessa's boyfriend. He checked in during the morning hours to make sure she was okay and to find out who was staying with her during the day. He checked in around lunch to make sure she had eaten something and to make sure the media hadn't bombarded her. He checked in later in the afternoon just to chat about his own day. Then he would check in at night to find out where she was staying.

None of them wanted Vanessa to be cooped up in one place. So they took turns chauffeuring her between Greg and Gina's house and Zac's apartment, and even a couple of times to Ashley's home, for a change of scenery and some company besides parents.

Vanessa didn't feel like a prisoner. She knew why they were doing this. She almost felt like a little girl again, a spoiled little girl, getting nearly everything she asked for. But she knew why her parents, all four of them, were catering to her. They wanted her comfortable and safe when Zac returned. She wasn't asking much of them; they offered more than she requested. Even Greg, her own father, had caved a time or two and ordered a caramel latté from the coffee shop to bring home for her.

But the night before Zac returned Vanessa found herself against a brick wall. Four bricks to be exact, named Starla, Gina, Greg and David.

"I just want to be at the airport when he gets home. I won't even get out of the car. Please, just let me go and pick him up! _PLEASE!_"

"No!" resounded through the air. It had come from all of their mouths at least half a dozen times in this conversation.

Vanessa first wanted to get into the terminal to be there as soon as Zac stepped foot back into the Los Angeles Airport. That wasn't going to happen. Federal security guidelines would stop her there.

Then she wanted to wait in the lobby of the airport to see him just as soon as possible. Greg had caused her pouting fit on that idea. "There is no way you're waiting in the airport lobby. Have you seen the number of cars surrounding this place, the number of cameras pointed at Zac's door? ALL of them will follow you to the airport and be all over you the second you step out of the car. No, no way!" Greg had turned his back on his pouting daughter and crossed his arms. His decision was final.

Vanessa turned on the tears and turned to her mother but she gathered the same response. "No, you heard your father. Sweetheart, Starla and David will get him back here just as quickly as they can. You _CANNOT_ go with them to the airport. "

Next she turned to Starla looking for a reprieve. With tears still wet on her cheeks she tried another tactic. "Mom," she knew the word went straight to Starla's heart from her lips. "I can't stand knowing that he's back in town and I can't be there with him as soon as he gets home. We planned on me meeting him at the airport. Please, just let me ride with you. I'll stay in the car. I won't even try to get out. I just want to be there when he gets back. Please."

When Starla gathered her 'Sweet Girl' into a hug Vanessa thought she had finally won a spot in the car to the airport. Instead she was met with a strong but soft whisper. "No." Starla whispered it into her ear and then pushed Vanessa back a little to look at her face. "My Sweet Girl, I love you and I know you want to see my son. But I can't let you go with us. You know why. It's for your own protection. And," Starla added, "it's for his protection too."

Vanessa hung her head and walked slowly over to David. Zac's father had always been on her side when it came to arguments between her and Zac. He had always had a soft side when Vanessa requested something special for dinner at their home. This time was different, and Vanessa knew it.

Before she even had a chance to ask, David took her by the hands and sat down with her on the couch. "Vanessa, look at me." She kept her eyes on the floor. "Look at me." David said, a little more demanding. She finally brought her eyes up to look at his. "Don't ask me. You know I love you, but I can't say 'yes' to your requests this time. So please, don't ask."

Vanessa started to open her mouth but David just raised his chin and put his index finger over her mouth. "No. Don't. If you ask again, I'll call Zac. You know what his answer is in all of this." Vanessa nodded and lowered her head again.

She had had a very similar conversation with Zac the night before while at her parents' home. All four of those 'bricks' had heard her end of the conversation and watched as she pouted and stomped up the stairs to her room. They all had smiled between themselves at the little girl who wasn't getting her way. Zac had told her 'no' to every request. That had been a signal to them of his wishes. And, he was correct.

_The parents had waited a half hour before Greg climbed the stairs to Vanessa's room. He found her on the bed, arms still crossed and pouting. Her phone had been tossed across the room and was sitting by the door. Two voice mails and an unread text message were flashing on the screen. "I'm guessing Zac doesn't want to see you at the airport tomorrow?" Greg smiled gingerly. "Are you not taking his calls now?" Vanessa didn't answer._

"_Vanessa Anne you've made it through almost two weeks. Thirteen days you've shown us how much of an adult you are. All of us have seen it. Don't go back now. You know he's only thinking about you. Do you really think he doesn't WANT you at the airport?" Still no response._

"_You're going to make me treat you like a ten year old again, aren't you? You have one choice to make in this matter. Where do you want to be when Zac gets home? You can be here, at home, or at his apartment waiting on him. Those are the choices. Once you decide, you let us know. Starla and David will be leaving at 11:30 in the morning to go pick him up. I'd suggest talking to him between now and then to decide."_

Greg leaned over her pouting face and placed a soft kiss on Vanessa's forehead. She lifted her arms and gave him a hug around his neck but still didn't say anything. She knew he was right. She knew Zac was right. But she still wasn't going to stop asking.

_She was still mad. She picked up the phone and listened to Zac's messages. He told her the same thing Greg had just stated. Now she was tired of them doing things 'for her own good.' She was ready to get Zac back and get back to her life as normal…whatever normal would be._

_Next she retrieved the text message. 'I love you.' Was all it said._

_She threw her hands into the air and looked up toward Heaven. "I've made it thirteen days. Why are these last eighteen hours gonna be so hard??" _

_She didn't want to talk to Zac again. So she sent the inevitable text, 'Where do you want me to be when Starla and David bring you home?'_

_Within two minutes of sending her message she got a response. Two words, 'my place.'_

So that morning they had made their way back to Zac's apartment. Gina brought a few groceries over to refill the refrigerator. Greg had brought the newspaper to read and a couple of sports magazines. Both knew that they would be leaving the apartment as soon as Zac got home. With his arrival, their watch would be done.

Vanessa had given her request one more try. And not a feeble one. The tears were genuine, she wanted to be there when Zac arrived at the airport. But four soft but stern faces continued to tell her 'no'. And after David's answer she gave up trying and retreated to the bedroom. She certainly didn't' want him calling Zac and tattling on her.

Starla looked in on her once more before she and David left for the airport. "We should be back in three hours. Looks like the flight is on time, so as soon as we can get Zac's luggage we'll bring him home."

Vanessa smiled at her and nodded. "Thanks mom." Starla crossed the room and gave her a quick hug. "Hang in there Sweet Girl…he's almost home."

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	7. Coming Home

Zac was getting nervous on the flight. Nikki, his _Hairspray_ co-star could see it. He kept shuffling his feet, legs jittery, he kept skipping songs on his iPod and glancing out the window. He tried to close his eyes but sleep was a world away. Just another half hour and they would be landing. Two more hours, he should be back home with Vanessa. Two more hours and he could finally hold her and see for himself how she was doing.

Before he left for Australia Zac thought they would e-mail pictures to each other during the trip. Not just the fateful pictures that had caused all the chaos, but others that would show each other what they'd gotten into while he was gone. He wanted to send her sights from Sydney and New Zealand. He wanted her to send crazy shots of her and Ashley shopping at the mall, or maybe a couple of V and Stella getting ice cream. But with the photo scandal, the two hadn't even e-mailed notes. Zac had stayed away from computers altogether. He wanted nothing to do with the internet. And Vanessa didn't even want to play a game of solitaire. Her computer had sat dormant for two weeks.

Zac had imagined Vanessa heartbroken. He imagined her tearful face. He imagined her smiling face when he professed his love to her. He imagined her surrounded by their families. He imagined her running into his arms and staying there, forever. But now he was imagining something else.

Now, a half hour outside of their homebound destination, his mind conjured up a different scenario. Now he was envisioning a Vanessa who didn't run to his arms. A Vanessa who was shell-shocked and hurt. Had she been putting on an act for him during all their phone conversations over the past two weeks? Was she putting on an act for their families? Was she angry with him? He knew all of their conversations were exactly the opposite of what his mind was showing him right now. But he just couldn't get the thoughts out of his head.

"She'd better not be at the airport." He mumbled under his breath.

Nikki just looked at him as he stared out the window. She knew what was going on. She'd heard a few of his conversations and had seen the pictures but Zac certainly hadn't shared anything in-depth with her about the situation. She decided against pressing him for any details now. Although those were the first words he had said in over three hours.

The pilot announced their descent into Los Angeles. Zac's breathing altered. His nervousness continued and he gripped the first-class armrest so tightly that his hand nearly went numb. He could hear Vanessa's order to him from the conference call two weeks ago. "Release Zachary!" Now he took those words to heart. Fifteen more minutes, they'd be on the ground.

The plane pulled to a stop and the fasten-seatbelts lights went out. Normally a calm flyer, Zac, practically climbed over Nikki to retrieve his carry-on bag from the overhead compartment. He was first in line to de-board the plane.

He was trying to be calm. He walked off the airplane and into the busy airport. No one was there. Thank God. He made his way into the public part of the airport and down to baggage claim. That's where he was meeting his parents. Zac quickly pulled out his phone and speed-dialed his mom. "I'm here, heading to baggage claim…rack six, Quantum Air."

Starla noted the nervousness in his voice. He didn't even say hello when she answered his call. "We're here Sweetheart, just waiting on you."

"Is she with you?" Zac questioned sternly.

"No…did you want her to be?" Starla retorted.

"Want? Yes. Expect? Kind of. Reality? I was sure hoping she wouldn't be, for her own sake." Zac's demeanor eased a little. If Vanessa wasn't here then maybe the media circus wouldn't be as crazy as he expected.

"What about the pap's?" Zac asked his mom.

"They're here, not too many. Most of them just stayed outside your apartment complex when they realized that Nessa wasn't with us when we left." Starla sighed. Zac noticed her using his pet name for his girlfriend.

As Zac wrapped up the phone conversation he came down the escalator to the baggage claim and caught site of the tabloid reporters. "Here we go." He said as he caught up to his mom and dad.

David and Starla surrounded him as best as they could. None of them spoke to the reporters as they flashed pictures of the three of them. Zac had to grit his teeth several times as the questions flew by…"Where's Vanessa?" "Did you break up with her?" "Was she sending those pictures to you?" "Will this hurt your career at all?"

David could see the fire flying from Zac's eyes. He touched his son's shoulder and just tried to ease his nerves. Luckily, Zac had only one bag to gather from the turntable. The rest of his baggage was being shipped to his home. David took his carry-on bag while Zac grabbed the suitcase and they were off to their car.

Inside the familiar confines of his black Audi Zac relaxed a little in the back seat. Starla turned to look at her son who was doing his best to stretch his legs and lean his head back against the seat. She observed him for a minute or so before looking back at her husband who was getting situated in the drivers' seat. She heard a huge sigh from the back seat and turned her face again to look at Zac.

"Where is she?" he finally asked.

Starla noted that Zac hadn't said Vanessa's name at all in their conversation so far.

"She's at your apartment, where you both agreed she would be. That's where she said you wanted her to be, right?" Starla was suddenly a little worried.

"Yeah, that's what I told her in my last text message. But she never called me back or anything." Zac leaned his head forward and rested on the seat in front of him, between his mother and father. He was staring out the windshield.

The three were silent again. Starla turned her head and watched out the window as well. There was so much she wanted to say to Zac…how proud she is of him; how much she loved him; how much Vanessa obviously loves him. But he was eerily quiet.

Zac had so many questions running through his mind; he didn't know where to start. The misgivings that ran through his mind on the plane were still playing out a scene in his head. He just couldn't shake the feeling that Vanessa didn't really want to see him. He was afraid that he would just bring all of this madness back to her when she simply needed to distance herself from it. He felt the tears forming in his eyes as he rested his chin on his hands, still leaning on the seat between his parents.

Starla turned to look at him when she heard a quiet sniff. He looked like the little boy that used to sit like that on the car trips to visit his grandparents. He was curious and perceptive and always liked to take in the scene around him. But this time, the face of her little boy was spotted with tears.

Zac quickly put his forehead on his hands, trying to hide the tears. His mother turned sideways in her seat to try and console him. She was quick to smooth his hair and attempt to get her arm around him. But she couldn't get him to lift his head up.

"Are you relieved to be home?" She asked.

"Not as much as I had imagined." Zac answered in a breaking voice.

"Why not? Don't let those tabloid reporters get to you Zac." David honed in on the conversation.

"I'm not worried about them, it's my own mind that's getting to me." Zac looked back out the windshield again and allowed his mom to wipe away a few of his tears.

"Does…does she really want to see me?" He asked, almost in a whisper.

Starla wished she could hug Zac right now as she had hugged Vanessa two weeks ago. She realized he was questioning all that he had done, and all that she had been through over the past fourteen days.

"Say her name Zac." Starla said softly.

"Wh-What?" Zac looked at his mom.

"Say her name honey. You haven't said Vanessa's name or nickname or anything since you got with us."

"Does Nes…Va-nessa really want to see me? She's bound to be pissed at me. I've been bossing her around for two weeks and I haven't even been here. Hell, I've been bossing you guys around for two weeks. Why are any of you letting me get away with this?" He caught Starla's hand as she reached to wipe more tears from his face.

Her face turned serious for a moment. "First off, Zachary David, watch your language. We are your parents after all."

"Sorry" came the voice that was now leaning once again against the back seat.

"Now. Have you not talked to Vanessa four times a day over the past two weeks?"

"Yes."

"Have you not ended each of those conversations by saying 'I love you'?

"Yes."

"Well she's not lying Zac. When Vanessa tells you that, she's not lying. Every one of us can see that she means it. You'll see it too when you look into her eyes. She wants you home Zac. She argued with all of us to try and come to the airport with us. That was the ONLY fight that she has put up since we got here. And she was so determined to come meet you at the airport. I thought we might have to sneak out to get you." Starla glanced back at him through the mirror on her sun visor.

"We had an argument over that too. I thought we had settled it when she sent me that text asking where I wanted her to meet me." Zac took a deep breath.

"Sure, you had settled it, but she hadn't. She came to each one of us…she turned on the tears…she called me 'mom' right in front of her own parents."

Zac was now grinning just a little. "She called you that in front of Gina and Greg? No way."

"Way." Starla replied, letting herself smile a little too.

"Well she obviously didn't ask Dad. Otherwise she would be here." Zac smiled a little bigger and noticed his father giving him a glare from the drivers' seat.

"Ouch, son, that hurts. I missed you too! For your information I was quite strong when Vanessa came crying to me." David tensed his shoulders a little.

"You sure were, my darling. You didn't even let her ask you anything. If she had gotten the question out, she would be in the back seat with Zac right now." Starla reached over and stroked David's cheek.

"Hey, I know my limits, don't I? She didn't ask the question, and she's not here."

Zac was enjoying the back-and-forth between his parents.

Starla turned more in her seat to face Zac. "Vanessa would have kept going with your father, except he threatened to call _YOU." _Starla admitted with a smile.

Zac was shocked. "What?!"

"Well sure," David glanced in the mirror again. "I knew that you had already set your foot down and if I had to call you again she'd just have to hear you lecture her again."

"You were bluffing." The look of shock still covered Zac's face.

"Nope. I would've called you. But I also knew you were on the plane already flying back and wouldn't be able to answer the call. No matter, she fell for it. That's what counts."

"Geez, who's the parent now?" Zac leaned forward again.

Starla and Zac both laughed at David. "Fine, let's see how _you_ handle her face to face with those puppy-dog eyes and tears streaming down her face. You had control from another continent, but let's see how it feels when you're face to face."

Zac thought for a moment, imagining Vanessa's tear stained face. "I'll be useless, at her every beck and call."

"Mmm-hmmm" David watched the road diligently. "That's what I thought!"

"Mom, seriously, how is she? How is my Nessa Anne doing with all this." Zac felt better already. Starla was right. Simply saying her name made him feel better.

Starla thought for a moment. "She's doing unbelievably well. She's been stuck with us four parents for two weeks now. She's been bounced back and forth between home, your apartment and Ashley's house. She's been to church a couple of times to say prayers and light candles. She hasn't been to the mall. She hasn't been out to eat. She hasn't had friends over or gone to anyone else's house. And yet, she hasn't complained or griped about it once that I know of."

"Compared to when you saw her two weeks ago, she's doing better?" Zac could just remember the hysterical young lady who hung up the phone on him that day the pictures had appeared on the internet.

"Compared to then, she's doing very well. She still seems weak. She still isn't sleeping wonderfully, although she seems to sleep better at your apartment than she does at home." Starla cocked her head to see Zac's reaction. A smile formed on his lips, ever so gently. "She's still very vulnerable Zac. Whenever we go out and she's with us, the paps ask her awful questions and she cries. She's having a hard time ignoring them. They even ask her simple questions, like when you are coming home, and she's on the verge of tears. They've ruined her Zac. She faced them just a little with her apology to Disney and the fans…but she's going to have to face them head on at some point." Starla felt David take her hand. David knew how angry Starla was at the paparazzi, and he knew the pain that Vanessa felt, every time she came in contact with them.

Zac saw the interaction between his parents over the back seat. "Is that why you guys decided to stay in L.A. till I got home?"

"We stayed in L.A. because Vanessa needed us, and you needed us to be here for her. And, now I'd say we stayed here for Gina and Greg as well. We've come to know each other pretty well Zac." Starla looked into his eyes. "Are you surprised that we stayed?"

"Honestly?" Zac looked back and forth between his mom and dad. "No. I'm not. Just like we were talking about the affect that Nessa has on dad…if you guys didn't love her, she wouldn't have that affect on you. And she wouldn't have called you 'mom' if she didn't love you too." Zac felt his heart pounding hard in his chest. He just wanted to get home and see her.

Again David squeezed Starla's hand. Both of them knew that Zac had hit the target with his explanation. And they both hoped that their love for Vanessa _and_ for Zac would help the young couple come through the rest of this mess.

A couple of miles from Zac's apartment Starla turned in her seat to talk to Zac. He could tell by the look on her face that she was having some hard, serious thoughts.

"What mom? What are you thinking about?" Zac asked in a worried tone.

For the first time in years, he saw his mom blush. She glanced at David and then back at Zac as if summoning the courage to say something. "The way you and Vanessa left things…your physical relationship…" David's head jerked around to look at his wife. "Just keep driving David, just keep driving…"

Now Zac was blushing. "Mom…"

"Let me get this out Zac. You two were quite, intimate, before you left."

"Yes…so I remember." Zac looked down at his hands in his lap.

"Step back a little bit Zac. When you get home. Don't think you can go back to where you were, right away. Vanessa may say that she wants to…you may feel like you want to…but don't, please." Zac finally looked into his mother's face. Her eyes were nearly pleading with him.

Zac glanced at his dad who was trying hard to keep his eyes on the road. Neither male in the car had any clue where this conversation had come from.

"Why…why not?" Zac asked gingerly.

"I don't mean this to scare you, at all. You've already done so much to help Vanessa through this, and her family. But like I said a few minutes ago, she is still very vulnerable. I can almost imagine that she feels mentally…well…raped…by this whole situation. She loves you and trusts you Zac. Having sex…making love to Vanessa right away may feel right to both of you. But I think, if you can control it, there's just probably going to be a better time, when this is all behind you. This is…well…it's just my opinion. I think you realize that I'm thinking of Vanessa as one of our family Zac. I don't want to see _my_ Sweet Girl hurt anymore. Especially not by the person that she loves more than life right now. Does any of this make sense?" Starla kept looking at Zac.

His face had gone from one that was soft but embarrassed, to one where his jaw was clenched, and now back to one of consideration. He thought at first that his mom was just trying to keep him from consummating his relationship with Vanessa. But now he understood more about what she had been through. Vanessa may not be physically hurt, but the emotional pain was going to take a long time for her to get through. Either of them losing control to the other, right now, on any front, could only add to the pain.

"I think it does. I think I understand what you're saying." Zac admitted.

Starla continued watching him. "I'm not trying to hold you back. This is a decision that you and Vanessa have to make. And as I told her, any decision the two of you make together, you stick to it. But that is just one step in your relationship that I think can wait a while longer. If the two of you talk about it and disagree with me, then so be it. It's just my opinion."

Zac reached over the seat and hugged his mother. "And I value your opinion. Nessa opened up to you, and you opened your heart to her. You've seen her and been with her. I need to listen to your opinion." Starla reached up and grasped Zac's arm that was around her neck. "You know I love you too, right?"

Starla smiled. "Yes my Sweet Boy, I know you love me too." She bent her head down and kissed Zac's strong forearm. Her little boy was a grown man now.

David looked over and smiled at the two of them. He was very glad his son was home.

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Starla had called Gina as they left the airport. Vanessa was counting the minutes until they walked through the door with her boyfriend. She knew very well that it took about forty minutes to get from the airport to Zac's apartment. Gina and Greg both saw their daughter glance at the clock, almost every minute.

At about the thirty-minute mark they noticed a change in Vanessa. The eagerness for Zac to be home disappeared. It was replaced by nervousness and the blood drained from Vanessa's face. Greg noticed right away.

"Sweetheart, Baby V, what's wrong? What are you thinking about?" Greg pressed her for an answer, worrying that she was suddenly ill.

Vanessa didn't answer him.

"V, did you eat this morning? What's wrong Baby, please tell Daddy what's wrong."

Vanessa started stuttering in a near whisper. "What…what if…what if he's ashamed of me? What if the paparazzi catches him and asks him all those awful questions or throws the pictures in his face and he comes in hating me? I don't know if I can face him." She scooted closer to her father and buried her head into the crook of his neck.

Greg's voice was stern. "That is exactly why I'm still here. If he hurts you at all, you're going home with us." The protective father was a little proud that his little girl was still turning to him for help. Over the past two weeks Zac had been her protector. It felt good, to Greg, to have his little girl back in his arms.

Gina interrupted the moment. "_WE_ certainly don't expect him to hurt you though. Do we Greg?!" She insisted.

Greg knew he needed to reassure his daughter about Zac's love for her. So he let go of _his_ moment and turned his attention back to Vanessa. "No, we don't. _WE_ expect him to come in and take you in his arms and not let go."

"Do you really think so?" Vanessa cried on Greg's shoulder. This was her dad talking. She would listen to his thoughts, and believe them.

"Yes, my baby girl, I do think so. And at that point, I'm going to have to let you go. When we are sure that you are safe in his arms, your mom and I will let go and leave you with him. He loves you Vanessa Anne. And I guess I should admit that I'm quite proud of the young man you've chosen to love."

Vanessa looked up at him, her eyes filled with love, and planted a firm kiss on her father's cheek. "I'll always love you Daddy. You're always gonna be the first man in my life." She smiled.

"Don't you forget that young lady. I may let you go into his arms but I'll never be far away." Greg nodded as he looked down into her beautiful brown eyes. "Now, how much longer do you have…"

Vanessa glanced again at the clock. "Oh shoot, they're gonna be here in less than five minutes. I've gotta go freshen up." And with that she headed into Zac's bedroom.

Gina came over and sat down by her husband. "You're a good dad, you know that?" Greg nodded.

"You've taught me well!" Greg smiled.

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	8. Recovery Begins

**A/N: Now, has anyone seen the Prince Philip/Princess Aurora Photo by Annie Leibovitz (don't own, just love her work!) that features Zanessa??!! (SWOON) Oh man, the romance in this one picture is enough inspiration for stories galore.**

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Within a couple of minutes Greg and Gina heard the doorknob turn on Zac's apartment. Vanessa was still in the bedroom, but she heard the sound as well and rushed to the bedroom door.

Starla and David walked into the apartment first with Zac just a step behind them. As soon as he stepped in the door Gina and Greg greeted him with hugs and handshakes. They exchanged pleasantries, asking Zac about his flight and assuring him that they were glad he was home. Vanessa just leaned into the doorframe soaking it all in.

She was trying to be brave and strong. But the arms that she wanted to hold her were finally there just a few steps in front of her. Finally Zac saw her waiting there. He could see the tears building in her eyes. They looked at each other for just a moment before Zac stepped closer to her and opened his arms.

Vanessa ran the few remaining steps and lost herself in his embrace. Her tears started automatically. She couldn't stop them. Zac stood there, holding her, stroking her hair, her face, clinging to her with every ounce of life that was in him. "I'm so sorry." He whispered into her ear over and over again. She was shaking in his arms now. Sobbing uncontrollably. But no one tried to stop her. They all knew she had been holding this in for two weeks.

Gina, Starla, Greg and David all stood back, watching their reunion unfold. Both of their children were exhausted. They could see it in their faces. Starla could especially see it in Zac's face when his own tears started falling. Each of them felt helpless, and they almost felt like intruders in this scene. Except they knew that they had helped hold each other together. This was a scene they deserved to witness, at least for a few moments. The young man who had been their strength, and Vanessa's lifeline, was finally home.

Zac looked at each of them, through tear-filled eyes. "Thank you" he mouthed to them, still holding Vanessa in his tight grip and working to absorb the waves of her emotions. Quietly each of their parents came to them to say goodbye. Each hugged the two as they were still joined together and gave them both kisses. David told Zac they would see them again tomorrow at some point.

Greg was the last to bid farewell. "Take care of my baby Zac. I trust you with her. You take good care of her." From within Zac's embrace Vanessa remembered the words that Greg had told her earlier. She realized that she must be safe in Zac's arms now, because her parents were leaving them alone together. Greg kissed his baby girl on the back of her head and gave Zac a pat on the back. With that he closed the door behind them and headed home.

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Zac continued to hold her there just steps inside his front door. Vanessa couldn't stop shaking; couldn't stop crying; and didn't want him to let her go or even loosen his grip around her. Zac knew he could stand there for hours but was worried now about V's uncontrollable shaking. "Baby, I'm home. It…It's gonna be ok now. We're right here together." He gently lifted her into his arms and sat down with her in the recliner. She didn't say a word, she didn't move, other than the shaking, as they lay there together. He grabbed a blanket from the back of the chair and wrapped it snuggly around her petite body, hoping it would help. Then they just lay there together silently.

Zac realized that he hadn't even thought about what to say to her when he got home. Now that he was here, he couldn't find the words. He felt like he needed to prove to her how much he loved her, how sorry he was that this had happened. But he simply couldn't find the words. Starla's lecture on the way home came back to him. His mother was right. As much as he would like to make love to Vanessa right now, she was much too vulnerable. The last thing he wanted to do was cause her any added pain.

The silence stretched into nearly an hour. It took half of that time for Vanessa's shaking to subside. Every few minutes Zac felt her grip his shirt a little tighter, then the grip would relax. She kept her head on his chest listening to his rhythmic heartbeat. And Zac noticed each time he moved his arms or hands, she tensed. She was afraid he was going to let go.

Vanessa finally found enough strength to speak. She still didn't move her head from his chest but again loosened her grip on his shirt. "Zac?" she whispered. "Do you still love me?" With that she dipped her head farther down on his chest, as though she was scared to hear his answer.

Zac knew he had heard the question correctly but he couldn't find the words to answer her. "Step back" Starla had said. Suddenly Zac knew what he had to do. They needed to start over again. Maybe not from the very beginning, but there had to be a fresh start.

Vanessa was still waiting for an answer, each second making her more paranoid that his answer was 'no.' Then she felt a strong hand caress her cheek and two strong fingers found their way under her chin. He lifted her tear-stained face to look into his eyes. "I have never loved you more than I do right now," he answered softly. Then he bent his head down to her and kissed her lips.

"More, please?" Vanessa begged when he pulled away. She let go of his shirt and lifted herself up on his lap. Zac felt her cup his face in her small hands and place her lips on his again. "I, I just need to feel you loving me. Zac, please?"

His mom's warning went through his head again. "Nessa, I love you. I want to give you almost anything right now to make things better. But I also don't want to hurt you or take advantage of you. That would kill me, more than being away from you, that would kill me…to know that you regret us being together…"

Vanessa pulled herself up once again and put a finger to his lips. "That…that's not what I'm talking about." She said shyly. "Please just kiss me Zac. Show me you love me with your kisses."

There was no smile on her face. She wanted him to show her his love in one of the simplest ways. So Zac stopped talking and started kissing her. He gave her soft kisses on her forehead, her cheeks, her lips, her hands. He sent shivers down her spine when he delicately kissed her neck and her collarbone. Kisses that weeks ago were insistent and elicited moans from his girlfriend were now gentle and loving and simply brought them closer together.

Finally, Zac returned to her lips. It took all of his strength not to allow his tongue to start refamiliarizing itself with her beautiful lips. For a moment he pulled back and just gazed at her. Then, to Vanessa's surprise he started singing a familiar chorus.

"This could be the start of something new…it feels so right to be here with you, oh…And now looking in your eyes, I feel in my heart…the start of something…new." Zac took her hand and placed it over his heart as he sweetly kissed her lips again.

This time she smiled. It was the smile he had waited half a month to see again. A smile that told him that she still loved him. Vanessa placed her head back on Zac's chest and let him wrap his arms around her once again. She knew she could finally fall asleep, so that's just what she did…and Zac joined her.

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Two more hours passed as they slept in each others' arms. Thankfully, the phone didn't ring; Gina had unplugged it. And their cell phones were silent. For just a few hours they were at peace once again. Zac's eyes came open only because Vanessa shifted her weight on top of him. She had been motionless for two hours, finally finding the sleep that had eluded her for nearly two weeks. He didn't want to disturb her, but he wanted to look at her.

She was wearing one of his hoodies and a t-shirt underneath. A pair of loose leggings covered her shapely thighs and calves. Zac remembered the last time he had seen her body and felt a little ashamed that he wanted to see more of it now. It was a thought that he pushed hastily from his mind knowing that his own arousal held much of the blame for the situation that was now haunting Vanessa.

But still, he wanted to look at her. He needed to make sure that she was physically ok. So he gently sat them up in the recliner and cradled Vanessa in his arms. For the next fifteen minutes Zac simply stared at her face, her hair, her nose, her lips. Her neck was resting on his forearm, her hair flowing gently over the arm of the recliner. She was beautiful, there was no doubt about that in his mind. He couldn't wait for her to open her eyes once again so he could look into them. He simply wanted to memorize every part of her, especially while she was relaxed and peaceful.

Nearly three hours had passed now and Zac was ready to close his eyes again and fall back to sleep. But it was Vanessa's turn to wake. She slowly lifted her head, knowing exactly where she was. Her position had changed, but she was in Zac's arms. As she looked up she was met by his piercing blue eyes. "There's my Baby." Zac whispered to her.

Vanessa again gripped tightly to his shirt. Zac lifted her up until she was sitting in his lap, her head tucked under his chin and laying against his chest. "What now?" Vanessa asked quietly.

"I don't want to let you go, ever again. I don't want to leave this spot. I want you to tell me how you have survived the past two weeks living with our parents and why I've felt so empty without you." Zac was staring at her. He just couldn't seem to peel his eyes away from her.

"I had you in my heart." Vanessa started. Tears were forming in her eyes as she thought of the past two weeks without him there. "I just kept thinking that I wouldn't give in to all the crap…at least not until I was back in your arms." She pressed her head against his chest and let her hands wander underneath his shirt. "I just kept thinking of you." She said softly.

Zac melted under her touch. He couldn't move; he couldn't speak. Feeling her hands cross his pectoral muscles and kneading gently on his rib cage was nearly more than he could take. He sucked in a breath as he again thought of his mother's words. "Step back." And again he knew she was right. But he certainly wasn't about to stop Vanessa's exploring hands unless they sent his temptations into overdrive.

"You know, I've dreamed about your touch for two weeks now. I missed this." Zac smiled into her soft curls.

"I thought we'd be doing a lot more than this when you got back." Vanessa sighed. She never looked up at him. "Amazing how a media scandal can put a damper on things, huh?"

Zac grabbed her shoulders and pushed her back. He realized that she was trying to excite him and he wasn't giving in to her. And he was beginning to realize that she was disappointed in his reaction.

"Nessa, honey…" He deliberately put his hands over top of hers, but left her small warm palms pressed against his skin. "Nothing can put a damper on what I feel for you. It's taken everything in me over the past hour to keep myself from touching every inch of you. If you think I don't want to take you into that bedroom right now and make love to you for the next forty-eight hours, then you're wrong."

Vanessa felt Zac's heart start pounding faster as he talked to her. She felt the gentle nudge of his erection coming to life. And she felt the heat rise in her own body.

"Media scandal be damned, I love you. I want to prove that to you. But I just don't think now is the time. I'm still in control of this situation Vanessa. I'm back, you're here, we're together. Before we let 'us' go any farther than we already have, we've got to get back in control of what we had before."

Vanessa looked at him with questions in her eyes and a disappointed look on her face. She started to pull her hands from under his shirt until he stopped her. "I didn't say I wanted you to stop." Zac smiled at her sweetly. "I just said we've got to regain _our_ control."

She still wasn't quite sure what Zac meant. But she continued to move her hands freely over his chest and stomach. Zac kissed her head, her cheeks, her lips while he relished in her touch. How he had missed that touch. He couldn't help but harden more as Vanessa touched his lips with her tongue, caressing his mouth with her sweet lips. This is when he knew _they_ had to regain control.

"This…my darling…is where we…need to…control…ourselves…and stop." Now he took Vanessa's hands from under his shirt. "There's something you haven't told me since I walked back in here."

Vanessa looked into his eyes and protested as he took her hands off his chest. She kissed the outline of his jawbone and heard him sigh as he tried to regain some of that control that she was ready to lose. "So, are you going to tell me?" He managed to push from his mouth. Zac took one of her hands and placed it again over his heart. "Please tell me. I need to hear _you_ say it."

Now the realization formed in Vanessa's head. She put each of her hands on Zac's cheeks and firmly kissed his lips. "_I love you_ Zachary David Alexander Efron. I don't particularly like you being a control freak at this particular moment…but I do love you!"

Before she could escape from his grasp Zac had tugged her back into a strong embrace. "Do you admit that I'm right…that we need to regain our control?"

Vanessa loosened herself in his embrace and nodded at him. "How long do we have to control ourselves?" She asked not-so-innocently.

"Until we make sure that you are okay. Until we can talk about this situation in the past tense, and until I know…until we know…that you are confident having control again."

Vanessa quickly glanced away from Zac's eyes. Her eyes danced to his crotch and she slowly moved her hands over his thigh. "I could take control right now." She raised her eyebrows at Zac and bit her bottom lip.

Zac huffed. "You're working to kill me here, aren't you. I've barely been back home three hours and you're deliberately trying to get me killed. After the talk I had with my mom, and _your _dad saying he trusts me…do you honestly think I could …"

She cut him off with a quick kiss. "Fine, you win." She pouted. "I guess I'd rather have you alive and in control and with me." Then the pout went away and Vanessa looked at Zac seriously again. "I do love you. Please don't go away again until…I don't know when…just please don't leave me alone again for a while."

Zac wrapped her in his warm embrace again, letting his arousal subside. "I'm not going anywhere without you Baby V." And with that she knew that Zac still had control.

-----------------------

It was nine o'clock and dark outside. Zac and Vanessa both realized that hunger was a small problem. They had spent those last few waking hours discussing how the reporters were treating both of them. Crude questions had been tossed at Zac in Australia while Vanessa faced similar ones each time she left the confines of her two homes…her parents' house and Zac's apartment. They even took pictures of her when she went to church Vanessa admitted.

But she also admitted that she was feeling much stronger now. With Zac back and at her side, in his arms, she felt stronger. And, she was ready to take a small step in showing the world that she would…that _they_ would move on with their lives.

"Zac, I'm really craving something awful." Vanessa grinned at her boyfriend.

"Did we not cover that a few hours ago? And the answer was 'no.' Not yet at least. I'm really just now recovering from your first attempts Little Miss Hottie Pants." Zac smiled in her direction, assuming she was talking about their intimate moment.

She smacked him on the chest. She had barely let Zac out of arms reach, except to go to the bathroom, since he had returned home. "Aren't you…_hungry_?" She asked suggestively.

"Nessa! Please stop!" This time Zac wasn't smiling at her.

"Party pooper!" Vanessa continued grinning. "I'm really in the mood for a Big Mac and some French fries." This time she turned on the puppy-dog eyes and slightly pouting lips. It was one of the looks that Zac admittedly would fall for every time. It was very similar to the look she attempted to give Zac's dad earlier in the day when she wanted to accompany him to the airport to meet Zac.

"You wanna go get something to eat now? You really want to go out?" Zac needed to make sure he understood her.

"Uh-huh." She replied. "Can we just run through drive-thru and come back here?"

"Why don't I just run out and get it and bring it back here?" Zac offered sincerely.

"No!" Vanessa's scared voice came through and Zac could see the fear in her eyes. "No, please…" she repeated quietly. "You said you wouldn't go anywhere without me, not yet."

Zac pulled her back into his arms and felt her shaking again. He suddenly realized that she hadn't been alone in the past two weeks. _He_ had made sure of that, not allowing his parents to leave her presence while he was away. Now he realized the fear that had grown in her and the need to have him by her side.

"Ness, I'm sorry. I, I didn't mean that I would leave you, not by yourself. I wasn't thinking, I'm sorry." He nudged her forehead with his chin then bent his face to kiss through her curls. "You tell me where we're going, what you want, and we go together, okay?"

It took another few minutes before Vanessa could answer him. She took several deep breaths and finally stopped shaking again. She wasn't quite sure why this incident had frightened her so much. She could only think that she had finally gotten Zac back, and didn't want to let him go again…not right now.

She worked to lighten the mood again. "Mom and Dad…yours too…they wouldn't let me have a bunch of junk food. I felt like a four year old being told to eat my vegetables." She forced a small smile as she leaned up and kissed Zac's jaw.

He understood what she was trying to do, but didn't loosen his hold on her. "Now Nessa, don't lie to me. I know you've got _my_ dad wrapped around your little pinky. He would sneak a gallon of cookies and cream up to your room using a ladder if you asked him to."

"I never asked him to." Was her simple reply.

"You want a shake or a sundae with that Big Mac?" Zac asked, moving his hands down to hold hers.

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The paparazzi had several nice shots of the young couple in the black Audi going through the McDonald's drive through line that night. Neither of them answered any questions about their order…they didn't have to. What really mattered to everyone including them was this: Zac Efron was home; he was with his girlfriend, Vanessa Hudgens; and their recovery process had begun.

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**Well, this is it, the final chapter of Scenarios: Photo Scandal. I hope you've enjoyed the story. Thanks for taking interest and reading it! I love your reviews and hope I can get some ideas for more Scenarios stories. I've got a few working right now, but just can't find the right direction to take them As always, your ideas are welcome!**


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